NextWave Wireless, a provider of mobile multimedia and wireless broadband technologies, has announced that HFCL Infotel, a telecommunications service provider in the state of Punjab in northern India, is conducting a large-scale outdoor Wi-Fi network trial using NextWave's innovative MBW 2000 series micro cell and MBW 1000 series pico cell Wi-Fi base stations in the capital city of Chandigarh. The trial, which will be deployed this summer, will measure the capacity, throughput and performance of NextWave's outdoor Wi-Fi networking solution, and serve as the first step to upgrading HFCL's mobile broadband capabilities, introducing a new level of mobile accessibility and customer services to the region.

More than 261 million people in India own mobile phones, making it the second largest wireless market in the world, and one of the fastest growing with more than 10 million new subscribers in March 2008. Laptop sales have also been increasing significantly, with a 59 percent rise in sales volume in the first half of fiscal 2007-2008 (according to the Manufacturer's Association for Information Technology). The demand for mobile broadband computing and access continues to grow and requires innovative mobile broadband solutions, with Wi-Fi playing an increasingly larger role.

"The synergies with NextWave will help HFCL Infotel give to its consumers the next level of connectivity," said G D Singh, COO of HFCL Infotel. "We are pleased to work with NextWave and look forward to a relationship, which will set new benchmarks for performance and customer delight".

"NextWave believes that India presents an incredible opportunity and new frontiers for high-performance mobile broadband networks and we are proud to provide HFCL with the technology and solutions to meet the demands of this fast-growing market," said Bill Jones, CEO of NextWave Network Products.

NextWave's Wi-Fi base stations are powered by xRF adaptive beam-forming smart antenna technology, purpose-built to boost subscriber performance and densities and reduce interference. With xRF technology, carriers can deploy fewer network devices, and still provide greater range, capacity and coverage than competing solutions. Especially in densely-populated cities like Chandigarh, this translates into significant and immediate CAPEX and OPEX savings.

HFCL is currently performing the test using NextWave MBW 2000 series micro cell base stations, featuring dual-radio xRF-powered 802.11 b/g access, and MBW 1000 pico cell base stations, with single-radio xRF-powered 802.11 b/g access. The trial area extends over a square kilometer over Chandigarh, in a mostly residential area that covers more than 1,000 subscribers. Upon successful trial completion, HFCL expects to expand network coverage throughout Chandigarh.