Attendance at the LTE India Conference, 27 May 2011, in New Delhi and some important meetings with Indian engineers & industry leaders looks set to encourage future participation in 3GPP.

In a separate development C-DOT – the state owned Indian Centre for Development of Telematics – has re-stated its intention to encourage Indian invention in the 4G domain.

In a magazine article, 7 June, “C-DOT begins research on 4G technology”, Mr V.V.R. Sastry, C-DOT Executive Director, has committed the Centre’s future to a pro-active role in LTE-Advanced R&D, saying that it is essential for India to “...revive the national telecom equipment manufacturing base which in turn will create employment opportunities... to create Indian invention, develop products and services which can revive the Indian Telecom manufacturing base in this country.”

Speaking at the LTE India event in New Delhi – on the 27th May – Adrian Scrase of 3GPP echoed the sentiments that India has a leading role to play in the development of 3GPP systems and not just a role as the fastest growing market for data services.

In his opening address Mr. Scrase challenged Indian decision makers to use LTE deployment as a spring board to the future, he said;

“It is clear that LTE deployment in India is imminent. What is important is for India to build on the success of those that have already deployed this technology, learn from their experiences and launch LTE in India in an international manner. By this route, India has the potential to become a world player in mobile communications and to stimulate employment and industrial growth for the benefit of the Indian economy as a whole."

3GPP and LTE talks

After New Delhi, speakers from the 3GPP and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) attended a workshop in Bangalore, set up to describe the recent advancements in 3GPP specifications.

Presentations on RAN layer 1 and Layer 2, Systems Architecture Evolution (SAE, EPC, EPS) and a special session on Security were delivered to over 170 delegates.

Mr. Rajan S. Mathews, Director General of the COAI co-hosted the event along side 3GPP. In his welcome address he emphasized the importance of LTE to India, he told delegates

“…With the recent launch of 3G in India, operators are witnessing an increase in data usage that has been higher than what was anticipated, accounting for 11% to 14% of Indian operator revenues in 2011.”

Mr. Mathews said that LTE is set to efficiently deliver the best user experience of mobile broadband. He also identified some India specific challenges on Security aspects, User equipment quality improvements as well as price sensitivity and the need for content in the vernacular languages used across the sub-continent, concluding that;

“In the medium to long term these challenges will be overcome and we will see a robust growth in LTE in India.”

Some of the 3GPP specific presentations from the workshop are on-line on the 3GPP site (Go to folder).