Saturn
Newbie
Kolkata is turning 4G and that's the first city in India to get 4G!!
The country’s first full-fledged 4G telecom service was launched here this morning and, by the evening, a storm-tossed city was still trying to come to grips with a puzzling question: why Calcutta?
Why was Calcutta chosen first?
Several reasons — ranging from the emotional to more staid rollout obligations — are being cited.
Theory 1
Calcutta is the place where Airtel’s Sunil Mittal will have to grapple with the toughest rollout obligations for the 4G service.
Mittal’s Bharti group had won broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum in the four telecom circles of Calcutta, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab after a bruising auction battle for the radio waves in June 2010.
Calcutta is the only metro circle on that list and that’s where Airtel will be held down to the highest standards of efficiency. Under the regulations, Airtel will have to provide “street-level coverage using the BWA spectrum in at least 90 per cent of the circle within five years of the effective date”. In the case of Airtel, the effective date is September 1, 2010 — the date when the right to use the awarded spectrum commercially commenced.
If the company slips up on the rollout obligation, it could face severe penalties that could even lead to the loss of spectrum rights.
In the three other circles, Airtel must ensure that at least 50 per cent of the rural short distance charging areas (SDCAs) — geographical areas with radii of roughly 25km where at least 50 per cent of the people live in villages — are covered within five years from the effective date. Not only is the requirement less stringent, it doesn’t insist on street-level coverage, either.
Read more here : Mystery of Calcutta turning 4G launchpad
Read more here : Airtel to Launch 4G Services in Kolkata in First Half of April 2012
Regards
$aturn^
The country’s first full-fledged 4G telecom service was launched here this morning and, by the evening, a storm-tossed city was still trying to come to grips with a puzzling question: why Calcutta?
Why was Calcutta chosen first?
Several reasons — ranging from the emotional to more staid rollout obligations — are being cited.
Theory 1
Calcutta is the place where Airtel’s Sunil Mittal will have to grapple with the toughest rollout obligations for the 4G service.
Mittal’s Bharti group had won broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum in the four telecom circles of Calcutta, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab after a bruising auction battle for the radio waves in June 2010.
Calcutta is the only metro circle on that list and that’s where Airtel will be held down to the highest standards of efficiency. Under the regulations, Airtel will have to provide “street-level coverage using the BWA spectrum in at least 90 per cent of the circle within five years of the effective date”. In the case of Airtel, the effective date is September 1, 2010 — the date when the right to use the awarded spectrum commercially commenced.
If the company slips up on the rollout obligation, it could face severe penalties that could even lead to the loss of spectrum rights.
In the three other circles, Airtel must ensure that at least 50 per cent of the rural short distance charging areas (SDCAs) — geographical areas with radii of roughly 25km where at least 50 per cent of the people live in villages — are covered within five years from the effective date. Not only is the requirement less stringent, it doesn’t insist on street-level coverage, either.
Read more here : Mystery of Calcutta turning 4G launchpad
Read more here : Airtel to Launch 4G Services in Kolkata in First Half of April 2012
Regards
$aturn^