With private operators seemingly going the TD-LTE way, WiMax Forum is now betting on state-run telecom operators BSNL and MTNL for growing its subscriber base in India.

"Outside of India, WiMax is going great, but in India, it is a bit more challenging. Here, we are focused on BSNL, its roll-out plan and franchise and the anticipated MTNL franchise effort," WiMAX Forum Director (Marketing) Declan Byrne told PTI.

"We will help BSNL and MTNL as much as we can with the planning and roll-out of the services," he added.

India had about 11.21 million broadband subscribers by end-January this year. The government is working on a National Broadband Plan at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore, aimed at setting up broadband infrastructure in the country.

Byrne said the public operators would have the first-mover advantage with the use of WiMax technology.

"There are at least 18 months before operators can launch their services using TD-LTE (since the devices are yet to be launched). If you can get even 10 per cent of the Delhi market, which has say 16 million mobile subscribers, that is 1.6 million customers. There is a lot of scope and the first mover advantage is still in favour of WiMax," he said.

Despite months of pitching hard to operators with its technology, private operators like Reliance Infotel and Bharti airtel are expected to opt for the rival TD-LTE technology over WiMax.

"Reliance seems to be hell bent on TD-LTE. They have an internal desire to create a device by the end of the year on TD-LTE and what that translates to is that middle to latter half of 2012, they build networks and reach mass market sometime in 2013. If Reliance does that, other operators will want to align," he said.

The number of WiMax subscribers has grown from 8-9 million in 2009 to 14.5 million subscribers globally in 2010, according to the forum. This number is now expected to grow to about 25-30 million in 2011, Byrne added.

BSNL and MTNL, which got Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum for offering high speed Internet services before other players, use WiMax technology.

On the challenges faced by operators in India, he said, "Rural India is a hard market. The challenge is how do you attract consumers, who have never made a phone call, to come on the Internet? This is what we are working on with BSNL, to help them understand the market and make the model work."

Exuding confidence in the Indian market, Byrne said, "We are not going away, we are doing fine. If we don't have a homerun in India, we will be sorry for that. But it will also really mean there will be a two-year delay before we have real broadband in India."

He added that the forum would continue to work with the telecom operators -- private and public -- to increase broadband penetration in the country.