RIL likely to go with Samsung for Wimax roll-out

Having won spectrum for providing broadband wireless access (BWA) services in the 22 telecom circles through its subsidiary Infotel Broadband, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will use WiMax technology rather than long term evolution (LTE) BWA technology.
According to a source who is aware of the development said, "Infotel has now finalised the technology and is in an advanced stage of negotiations with Samsung for sourcing WiMax equipment."
The Korean giant is a player both in network equipment as well as WiMax handsets business.
The source further said, "Reliance Infotel has been conducting WiMax trials for the last couple of months."
Samsung has already provided equipment to 56 mobile operators in 34 countries including Clearwire in US, UQ Communications in Japan and YTL Communications in Malaysia.
Samsung also makes a range of electronic equipment such as USB dongles, embedded devices and mobile phones. It has developed several devices with combinations of WiMax, GSM, CDMA and WiFi fpr connectivity.
Since RIL has chosen Samsung, it is clear that deployment will be on the mobile WiMax platform and not fixed WiMax standard.
Infotel deciding to go with WiMax will act as a saviour for the technology, which has received several setbacks in the recent past, with players such as Yota in Russia and Sprint in USA announcing plans to go for LTE. It will also deal a body blow to short term LTE prospects in India.
However, despite most operators keeping the option of using both technologies open, it is still unclear as to whether Reliance Infotel will keep the doors open for LTE in the future or not.