Brazil had adopted a workable model for telecom infrastructure development in less populous places (having less than 50,000 people). It allows for a system of bids for interested entrepreneurs. These licences are sold independently of the `larger' licences. CorDect WLL will be used in 36 cities in Brazil. The two operators who have placed the orders are EngeTEL for 16 cities and TV Braz for 20 cities. A third player Commware who has recently been awarded a licence and is starting operations in 15 cities will also be placing orders for CorDect WLL.

Smaller players, who are interested in setting up operations quickly and generating returns for the project, are willing to opt for CorDect WLL technology as the cost works out to approximately $250 per line approximately against existing technologies costing $1000. Along with the telephone line, CorDect also offers Internet connectivity which is routed separately through its radio exchanges without interfering with the voice line. Bandwidth of 70 kbps and 35 kbps per line is provided depending on the customer requirement.

In the next six months, another 400 towns in Brazil are expected to offer bids for telecom operators, so much so that Midas has set up an office in Sao Paolo, the commercial hub of the country. Continued on Page IIArgentina has also placed orders for four systems each for 1000 lines.The technology also has a significant presence in African countries - Nigeria's pay phone network, Kenya, Angola and others. In Madagascar, Yemen, Fiji where systems have been operational for more than a year, they have been maintenance free, Purohit said.

The technology is sold through licensees of Midas, with BBS Access of Singapore being the latest. Midas undertakes the systems networking on behalf of the customers for a fee. Meanwhile local ISPs are seeing potential in the technology apart from basic operators. While Magna (an ISP in Delhi) has signed on for the technology, many others are in talks with Midas for incorporating the same.

The current benefit for the ISP is that Internet services can be independently routed without incurring telephone charges. This would facilitate the ISP charging flat sums per hour which would still be cheaper than what is currently being charged by ISPs through the analog route. (For example, a customer levying the services of Satyam Online would have to pay an Internet fee of Rs 10 and a telephone charge of Rs 22 per hour. The ISP can by deploying CorDect can levy a smaller sum, of say Rs 24 per hour, and still make good profits. The other advantage, according to Purohit was that once telecom sector gets better structured, these ISPs can come into the fray as they get an in-built telephone connection free and an existing infrastructure in place.