The shift to 4G in India

The shift to 4G in India

In India's most recent election, the tech-savvy Twitter user Narendra Modi, used the platform relentlessly, sending campaign updates to his 4.7 million Twitter followers. The Prime Minister's use of social networking proved to be an advantage during the election, as his opponents lagged in adopting the use of technology to connect with voters. On May 16 he set a Twitter India record with his victory acknowledgement tweet.

Today we find ourselves shifting away from the PC era, where people are using technology throughout the day across a growing combination of mobile platforms. Consumers are beginning to expect access to products and services from anywhere, via both the web and apps, using the device of their choice to interact and transact.

The shift to mobile is creating a greater reliance on a greater number of applications running on mobile devices. The proliferation of mobile social networking (Instagram, Vine, Twitter, etc.) has meant that a new generation of smartphone users is now connected through social networks.

The potential for future growth of mobile social networking in India is huge. Two thirds of the country's billion people are under the age of 35, the demographic that makes up the majority of both smartphone and social network users in other markets.

Although the consensus among India's telecom operators is that the mass adoption of 4G LTE is likely about two years away; the Indian telecom industry is entering an unprecedented shift. As mobile broadband penetration continues to expand, and legacy technologies begin to fade away, the way in which the network operates must transform to accommodate this growth of mobile data. The digitization of the consumer experience across an assortment of industries will cause an unpredictable surge in data usage. Next-generation 4G LTE infrastructures are needed to ensure that sporadic surges in data can be managed through an on-demand experience.

The fact is that the telephone is just one available app; there are many more high-bandwidth means of communication that consumers find more compelling and are willing to adopt. This experience is changing the way that we consume data. What we used to watch on television screens is now streamed onto mobile devices. Conversations that used to happen via telephones are now Skype sessions.

Operators in India need to seize this opportunity. As the market shifts from voice to data, providers can create a mobile experience that matches new communication trends.

However, this shift will come with complexities. A predictable flow of phone calls from one location to another has become millions of different applications each connected to the network on demand. Mobile bandwidth needs to be able to scale, creating a dynamic user experience. Applications like WhatsApp, Skype, Waze need sufficient bandwidth to deliver smooth operations.

This mobile experience requires a different kind of network. Operators need to pay attention to metro network infrastructure, ensuring that they can count on consistent and high-performance aggregation for cell towers and small cell deployments. 4G LTE will also require a high degree of reliability, ensuring that there is continuous connectivity for an immersive mobile experience.

This shift to mobile is changing the way we communicate and connect. Telecom operators in India need to embrace this and build the networks that can sustain mobile growth. When looking for the next generation of customers, industry should start to look to mobile devices - it worked for Modi in his search for voters.

The article is authored by Ryan Perea, Country Head, Ciena