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Look ma, no lines

Thiruvananthapuram Telephones goes in for Prof Jhunjhunwala's cheaper, indigenous wireless local loop technology

Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, seems to be finally getting his due. For, just months after the Indian government opted for costlier foreign technology, the Thiruvananthapuram Telephones of the Kerala Telecom Circle has plumped for his version of a

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wireless local loop system.

Thiruvananthapuram Telephones is initially going ahead with a 1,000 line-exchange based on his digital enhanced cordless telephony to serve subscribers within a five-km radius of the central exchange. The technology costs 30 per cent the price of the code division multiple access system of Qualcomm.

Jhunjhunwala's system could handle higher speeds of data transmission and was upgradable, unlike CDMA. But it was delayed because it needed 20 frequencies, between 1600 MHz and 1800 MHz, used by some government departments, including the military. Now that the department of telecommunications has finally kept its promise and freed those frequencies, DECT can take on its rival again.

Meanwhile, Bharti Telnet, the basic services licence holder for Madhya Pradesh, has already commissioned CDMA based wireless local loops in key areas of Kerala.

-Compiled from the Indian media

Earlier:
The Lone Ranger

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