Data explosion is driving usage of devices, eco-system, says Nokia Solutions official

New Delhi, March 10:

As the Executive Vice-President/President, Asia, Middle East & Africa of Nokia Solutions and Networks, Ashish Chowdhary is one of the Indians who have made it to the companys global team. After leading India operations for Nokia Networks from 2003 to 2007, Chowdhary emerged into the global scene heading the companys global delivery services.

As part of the Executive Board, he is today driving the telecom equipment makers transformation along with CEO Rajeev Suri. Business Line met Chowdhary on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress at Barcelona to know key trends in telecom equipment segment.

Is the telecom equipment market showing signs of buoyancy? What is driving growth globally?

The main factor driving growth is data. Last two years have generated data as much as in the last 50 years. Data explosion is driving usage of devices and in turn this is driving the whole ecosystem. Different parts of world are in different stages of this evolution. Some parts are still on 2G, while others are doing massive deploying of LTE. Voice is flattish but data are growing.

Can LTE (4G) be done in 1800 MHz band as is being planned by Indian players?

LTE can be deployed across a number of frequencies. As far as the 1800 MHz ecosystem is considered we do believe its the most robust for LTE deployment. Only short-term issue is availability of affordable devices.

Is 5 MHz enough for data play?

Larger quantum of spectrum is always better. Normally, operators have 10 MHz or more. But Indian operators have launched 3G with 5 MHz, so it has worked. Its our job as technology vendors to maximise efficiency and squeeze out spectrum usage from service point of view.

Read the rest here:

Our technology can pack more in same spectrum