New Delhi, February 27: The Department of Telecommunications is still looking for an appropriate technology for providing telephones to over 3,00,000 villages, with its target of connecting all villages by the end of the Eighth Plan getting extended by another five years. DoT had, till January 1998, connected only 2,78,441 villages out of a total of 6,03,906 under the village public telephone scheme. It is estimated that giving one phone line requires a minimum investment of Rs 47,000.At least ten per cent of the villages are expected to be connected by private operators under the licence agreement. The government is serious about ensuring private involvement in village telephoney though DoT has been sceptical of their success. DoT has taken up a detailed analysis of all the available telecommunication systems with the idea of selecting an appropriate technology for rural telephoney. Various cordless and digital cellular mobile systems are being adopted for fixed wireless in local loopapplications.
Trials of a number of cordless systems like personal handyphone system, digital enhanced cordless telecommunications and cellular systems like global systems for mobile telephoney, digital cellular system (DCS 1800), digital advanced mobile phone system (D-AMPs), extended time division multiple access (ETDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA) are being carried out by the Department. Besides point to multi point MARR systems provide cost effective solutions for provision of village telephones in certain areas. The various systems being tried by DoT have been rated as having varying degrees of success. But it has not been able to pick up a technology which is suitable for meeting all the requirements of the Indian condition.
According to sources, after trying a number of systems, DoT has decided to replace all the existing analog systems with digital ones to overcome the complaints of massive systems failure.
In fact, the failure of the systems in rural areas had become a bigger scandalthan the failure of the department to provide connectivity in more than half of the villages in the country. DoT sources say that the performance of MARR (multi access rural radio) system, despite some complaints, has been largely satisfactory. The companies which developed this system include Shyam Telecom, Advanced Radio Masts Limited, United Telecom and Natelco. The available technologies, says DoT, can be categorised under three heads. These are, digital cellular mobile technologies (Macro Cell), cordless technologies (Micro Cell) and multi access technologies. Digital cellular technologies are based on European and American (IS-95) standards of time and code division access methods. But the problem with these system, according to a DoT analysis, is that the speech quality does not meet fixed network standard. They require separate switches. Compared to this, sources say, DECT systems offer better voice quality and could be used on existing switches with suitable interface.
INSIGHT
Three yearsafter the National Telecom Policy promised to provide a telephone facility in every village, DoT is still searching for an appropriate technology for the village public telephone scheme. This despite the fact that multi-access rural radio (MARR) is considered by and large satisfactory. Shyam Telecom, Advanced Radio Masts, United Telecom and Natelco have developed MARR. But DoT continues to look at a wider menu of technologies. Curiously, the failure of private licensed operators to cover ten per cent of the villages is highlighted by DoT, even though its own record since independence is nothing to boast about.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
