US-based Aperto to invest $10-20 mln in India in next 2-3 years

New Delhi, Dec 15 (UNI) US-based Aperto Networks, a builder of WiMAX base stations and subscriber units, today said it will invest 10-20 million dollars in India in the next 2-3 years.

''We consider India as critical for the growth of the company and will invest 10-20 million dollars in the next 2-3 years in expanding our R&D base and sales channels. We are also planning to set up a manufacturing facility,'' Aperto Vice President (Marketing and Alliances) Manish Gupta told reporters here.

For the manufacturing facility, the company is considering partnership model and is close to tie-up with ''some big companies'', he added.

''Further announcements will be made in the first half of 2007.'' Aperto presently has research and development (R&D) facilities in Bangalore and Chennai.

In the next few years, the company has plans to conduct one-third of its R&D operations from India and will set up a customer support unit in Bangalore, adjacent to the R&D facility, and an equipment repair facility ''to give a fillip to its operations in the country,'' Mr Gupta said.

In the initial phase, the customer support station will concentrate on local customers and will gradually be expanded to cover the Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world.

WiMAX is expected to be fully operational by the end of next year with a market size of 0.5 billion dollars.

''All our activities will be focussed towards garnering a dominant market share of 10-30 per cent in the next few years,'' Mr Gupta added.

The company today also announced the roll-out of PacketMAX base stations and subsciber units across six cities and four rural areas in the country under the first phase of a tender by state-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) that was issued in late 2004.

The deployment which covers Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune and four rural districts in Haryana is planned to be completed in January next year.

The WiMAX network will enable BSNL to offer high bandwidth data communications services such as internet access, Voice over Internet Protocol, telemedicines, e-education, e-governance and e-commerce in urban and remote areas.

''We look forward to continuing our association with BSNL as it further strengthens the backbone of India's information society and employs Aperto's WiMAX gear to help bridge the rural-urban digital divide,'' Mr Gupta said.

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