Shorthaul fibre can’t be put on the backburner anymore

Let’s get this straight—so far, telcos’ preferences have been heavily skewed in favor of mobile networks for offering broadband access to their clients. Their investments in fixed-line networks have been limited to long hauls, where the deployment of fibre is unavoidable.

In a matter of 10 years, India has moved from 2G to 3G and then to 4G. Telcos have managed to subsist with just need-based deployment of fibre in the backhaul, which relies heavily on the radio. Not anymore.