Economic Times | April 4, 2011
NEW DELHI: With private operators seemingly going the TD-LTE way, WiMax Forum is now betting on state-run telecom operators BSNL and MTNL for growing its subscriber base in India.
“Outside of India, WiMax is going great, but in India, it is a bit more challenging. Here, we are focused on BSNL, its roll-out plan and franchise and the anticipated MTNL franchise effort,” WiMAX Forum Director (Marketing) Declan Byrne told PTI.
“We will help BSNL and MTNL as much as we can with the planning and roll-out of the services,” he added.
India had about 11.21 million broadband subscribers by end-January this year. The government is working on a National Broadband Plan at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore, aimed at setting up broadband infrastructure in the country.
Byrne said the public operators would have the first-mover advantage with the use of WiMax technology.
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