Use of single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi devices to impact infrastructure scalability, sustainability: Domestic group
BharatNet
may impact performance, scalability and sustainability of telecom infrastructure, following top chipset vendors -- Broadcom, Qualcomm,
MediaTek
and
RealTek
-- discontinuing technology support, a domestic industry group said.
'The continued use of 2.4GHz-only Wi-Fi products in BharatNet deployments is not merely a technical issue but a strategic oversight. It negatively impacts performance, scalability and the long-term sustainability of the infrastructure while sending the wrong message to the domestic technology ecosystem,' Rakesh Kumar Bhatnagar, director-general,
Voice
of Indian Communication Technology Enterprise (Voice), told ETTelecom
Delhi-based group that represents Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HFCL, Tejas Networks, Coral Telecom and Lekha Wireless, further said that an urgent and decisive action is needed to bring BharatNet in line with the current global broadband standards and to better serve rural communities and taxpayers.
However, the state-run
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
(
BSNL
) is yet to finalise the Gigabit Passive Optical Network Optical Network Terminal (GPON ONT) award order for the amended
BharatNet phase III
program that aims to connect more than 6 lakh villages with an optical fibre network.
Meanwhile, it has mandated the use of dual-band and single-band access points in a 60:40 ratio, in one of its recent notice inviting tenders.
GPON ONT is a device that is commonly used for the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) rollout. These devices are used to convert optical signals originating from the fiber into electrical ones that can be used by routers, computers, and other devices to access the internet.
Homegrown companies argue that the 2.4GHz-only Wi-Fi access points have technical incompetencies, bandwidth limitation and channel congestion, high-interference sensitivity, and outdated protocol support.
'Continuing with single-band procurement risks BharatNet becoming a dumping ground for obsolete technology.'
While the devices have reached an end of life, the global chipset suppliers such as Broadcom, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Realtek have ceased support for single-band 2.4GHz hardware designs.
Industry experts say that even ecosystem vendors including driver developers, firmware maintainers, and calibration tool providers have discontinued support for single-band 2.4GHz only utilities and drivers.
'This exposes BSNL and BharatNet to risks around firmware updates, security patches, and hardware maintenance.'
Queries to BSNL as well as Broadcom, MediaTek and Realtek remain unanswered.
Bhatnagar further said that the current situation appears to be a "strategic misalignment" with global Wi-Fi evolution, at a time when standards are evolving and the industry has embraced dual-band (2.4GHz + 5GHz) and tri-band (including 6GHz) as standard.
Outdated technology, according to him, poses a threat to India's digital goals, and undermines the
Digital India vision
, reduces service quality in rural areas, and exacerbates the digital divide.
The group further said that while the country's telecom department (DoT) and Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) promote modern technologies such as Wi-Fi 6, BharatNet's procurement practices continue to reflect outdated standards, resulting in a "mismatch between policy intent and execution."
The domestic industry group said that any plan a for deployment of older technology would be a waste of public funds, and future tenders must not allow procurement of single-band Wi-Fi devices, and the public sector telco may adopt a transition roadmap of BharatNet from Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) to Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) technology.
Originally, the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking standard was released in 1997.
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