Ntc not to invest more on CDMA and WiMAX

Ntc has announced that they will not invest more in WiMAX and CDMA services.  In a press meet organized by Ntc, Chief Technical officer declared their plan not to invest in those technologies. The frequencies used for both technologies will be later used for 4G technologies.

The technology neutrality in the new spectrum policy paves the way for an operator to use new technologies like 4G in the existing frequency band. So, Ntc intends to use those two bands 800 MHz (CDMA) and 2300 MHz (WiMAX) for 4G. Whereas some of the current extension plans in both technologies are known to be continued.

NTC holds 6 MHz frequency in 850 MHz bands and 30 MHz in the 2.3 GHz band. All or part of these bands can be used later for 4G. Currently, there are around 16 thousand WiMAX users, and around 15 lakh (1.5 million) CDMA users. Total CDMA users of Ntc include Fixed C-Phone, Prepaid/Postpaid mobile phones and EVDO data cards.

Phase-out CDMA and WiMAX technology

NTC has already decided to phase out CDMA services. As there is no further evolution in CDMA, unavailability of several services in CDMA, unavailability of different range of CDMA handsets, It is like a global trend to scrap CDMA services. But in our country, considering the uneven hilly/ mountainous terrain, there must be alternative mobile service in those remote locations, to have a shutdown of the CDMA service.  The timeline for the phase-out of CDMA and WiMAX is not clear yet.

NTC MD Mrs. Kamini Raj Bhandari even expressed the idea of phasing out old landline phones and ADSL services. It is possible by providing similar services through new technology projects like TDM migration. They told us to focus more on Fiber to the home (FTTH) service for Fixed broadband service.

If you are a CDMA or WiMax user, you need not worry if these services are close very soon. It is as per their plan to close these services later. They will be announcing the date when they will close it. But for a new user,  just like the operator, you need not invest more for the handset or fixed phone or CPE or dongles.

If you have any queries regarding the CDMA and WiMAX service of Ntc, you can comment below.