S Narayanan

Bandwidth, that elusive password to communication, is the netted world's most desired commodity today. The more you get it, the more you want it. More information, quicker networking, greater convergence - bandwidth is the gateway to all that makes for a well-connected world. And more bandwidth means faster, better, stronger voice data and video messages. So how does one get these fast-communication modes faster?

The answer is the laser optical communication system.Voice-data and video into free space all through a laser beam. After the optical fibre and the microwave system, the laser is the latest mode of communication for last mile connectivity. And it is this product that Bangalore-based networking major MRO-TEK Ltd  plans to market and provide exclusively. Following its recent tie-up with Lacom Systems of Korea, who have developed the laser optical communication system, MRO-Tek would be the first in the country to provide connectivity through laser beams as carriers.

indiamarkets spoke to the CMD of MRO-TEK, S Narayanan, about this breakthrough technology and the tremendous applications it holds for today's world.

indiamarkets: How will laser score over optical cable and the microwave?
Narayanan: In every aspect, laser communication is cheaper than the other two options mentioned above. First of all, both these modes invite leased line rental fee and the electric wave rental fee respectively for the high-speed/large capacity voice data transmission between the switching system and the base station and the different base stations. But the laser communication does not suffer from any such restrictions. In fact, the laser equipment itself is 20-30 per cent cheaper than the microwave equipment and works out 20 per cent cheaper to install.

What is however more important is the wide-band communication it handles. Laser can handle speeds of 155mbps upto STM1 On the other hand, the wireless laser optical communication system needs no frequency allocation, it has no problems of service delay or lack of service that might result from administrative errors.

indiamarkets: What kind of infrastructure do you need for laser connectivity? What about the maintenance?
Narayanan: Line of sight is a crucial factor as the wireless optical communication is established by passing light through free space. Besides, the laser communications is interfaced with network switch, hub, bridge or route with multi-mode optical cable and the standard SC connector. The system can be taken up to a height of 60 m beyond which it would not be stable as wind speed can alter the line of sight.

Once installed successfully, the system does not require any particular maintenance works.

indiamarkets: What about the security aspect? How easy is it to bug a laser optical communication system?
Narayanan: Whether it is optical fibre or microwave, it is possible to wiretap the communication by connecting another wire and bug the radio by tuning the frequency. But it is fundamentally impossible to bug laser communication as the infrared beam used for it is invisible to the naked eye. Besides it is transmitted in a narrow width of no more than 1 m even in the receving point, several kilometres away from the transmitting point. Even if someone attempts to bug it, the communication is disconnected so that the person who is operating it can recognise it immediately.In fact, it is this security feature that is expected to appeal to the army, police, information agencies etc and increase the demand for it.

indiamarkets: Are there any factors that affect the laser system: Weather, sunbeam etc? Can the laser coming out of it damage men or animals? What about birds or say a plane that passes through the laser beam transmission section?
Narayanan: An instantaneous fault might occur due to very dense fog, snow, smog or lightning, but the transmission immediately resumes. It is a similar case when a bird or a plane passes through the beam path. The user can hardly recognise that there was a problem at all. And as for the sunbeam, the LCS series is not affected by it at all.

Nor does the laser coming out of the lens harm anyone as the semiconductor laser is of a low output power (100 mW) in the infrared band.

indiamarkets: How does the cost of laying down the laser series compare with the other two modes?
Narayanan: The Laser system for a 5-km stretch would cost Rs 30 lakh as against Rs 50 lakh per year charged by the Department of Telecom for a 140Mbps line connection. The cost of laying fibre on the ground would work out to approximately Rs 8-10 lakh per km. So it is obvious that the laser mode works out very economical.

indiamarkets: In which areas can the laser optical system be applied?
Narayanan: The laser system has immense applications in hospitals, banks, communication companies as well as the Army. It  can also be configured temporarily in places such as exhibition centres, sports events and disastrous areas, and all those places where it is difficult or impossible to lay the optical cable for wideband communication. It can be used for the wireless backup of optical cables.

indiamarkets: We heard that MRO-TEK has bagged an order by the Army to deploy its MAN range of communication in its barracks...
Narayanan: Indeed, it is true. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) is one of our areas of expertise along with an array of LAN and WAN products, which incorporate the latest technologies from global pioneers in the field. However, the Army experience is the first time that we have commercially deployed MAN. It surely feels good.

indiamarkets: What are your plans for the future?
Narayanan: We at MRO-TEK are a niche player in the global market, providing networking and last mile access solutions to the industry. We have steadily risen in the market by offering an entire range of WAN and LAN products and having tie-ups with various international majors like Globaloop of Israel, Cobalt Networks of USA, Zyxel Communication of Taiwan and the recent one with Lacom Systems of Korea. Last September, we went public. Now our goal is to go global and be on the NASDAQ.