contrary to earlier news, Reliance Industries (RIL) may delay launch its new telecom venture of fourth generation or 4G this year.
The news came after the fact that the 4G trials were suspended in Jamnagar, now the trials will begin in August.
Many analysts believe that RIL is looking for a big-bang exposure to all over India and not just few states, sources also claims the technology will be a voice + data network.
Though RIL has inked a pact with Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL) there are logistic issues ranging from tower availability to fiber optics network. Expected no. of network tower required per city is around 2-3K, hence total no. of towers required in the country is a whooping 1 lakh. each tower takes 10 days for setup and maximum of 45 permission to setup that tower. Any realistic timeline for this project can only be estimated after this monnsoon. On fiber network considering 2 cities, Mumbai and Delhi total cable required is around 9000 KM.
With stricter rules enforcement for the rural penetration of broadband, it will not be an easy task for RIL.