7:55 AM -- Any major optical transport network plan is always worth noting but it's always more interesting when the network in question is a greenfield network for an operator with major aspirations.

That's what we have in India currently, where Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) -- the only company to hold Long Term Evolution (LTE) licenses that cover the whole of the country -- appears to be in the final stages of choosing its transport infrastructure equipment suppliers for a US$400 million-plus investment. (See Reliance Fleshes Out Its LTE TDD Plans and Reliance Gives Impetus to LTE TDD in India.)

The 4G operator has reportedly shortlisted three vendors. Find out who they are by checking out this Light Reading India article: Optical Crunch Time at RIL.

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading