INTERVIEW: WiMAX IN INDIA "Our main objective is promoting WiMAX as a brand identity"
Aditya Agrawal, VP of WiMAX forum elaborates that the forum is a non-profit
organization comprising broadband wireless access system manufacturers,
component, suppliers, software developers and service providers
 WiMAX
has a lot of offerings for India. The person bringing the WiMAX forum to India
is Aditya Agrawal. He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and settled in California,
USA. Currently Aditya is VP of the WiMAX forum and Chairman of certification
working group of the forum. He is also the Director of Marketing for Beceem
Communications.
What hopes do you have from Indian industry for WiMAX?
Presently, WiMAX is a buzzword, and will attract various stakeholders in the
near future. In India, a lot of hard work is required to spread the right form
of awareness for WiMAX.
What is the main objective of this forum?
The forum is a non-profit organization comprising broadband wireless access
system manufacturers, component, suppliers, software developers and service
providers. Our main objectives are promoting WiMAX as a brand identity and have
WiMAX forum certified equipment.
How has the Indian industry reacted for this forum?
Indian companies are very enthusiastic about it. It may be because everyone
is supporting the making of standards, specially in India. Globally, the WiMAX
forum has around 220 members and around 10 are Indian companies. Although the
forum was incepted in 2001, in India, it is just a start of dialogue. But as the
government is showing its interest, we are hopeful from India. A detailed and
focused approach is all that is needed.
Which Indian companies are so far associated with the forum?
Reliance, Sify, Satyam and Bharti are among those Indian companies that are
participating actively in the forum. Soon we will have a regional director in
India who will take care of the Indian region.
In the Asian region, how is the WiMAX forum performing?
Countries like South Korea and China are coming up in a big way for WiMAX.
South Korea has already adopted WiMAX deployment, which is a great sign for
technology. WiMAX is at a nascent stage in India
What threats are posed against the forum?
A very critical thing for this technology is the direction of approach. It
is essential to react and learn this technology quickly. If we react late or
wait too long, then it can be an obstruction for WiMAX and may miss the bus.
What segments are you targeting in India?
We are targeting service providers, component suppliers, network companies
and software developers in a focused way.
CyberMedia News
Page(s) 1 2
| 
