As per the President of India, the country has a total installed bandwidth capacity of 19-20 Terrabytes, and lit up capacity is progressively increasing. At Commonwealth Connects 2007, he suggested the creation of a common web portal for sharing information and knowledge among Commonwealth countries and the creation of a Commonwealth Connects Fund. The National e-Governance plan (NeGP) has the mandate of delivering government and private services to citizens, and State Wide Area Networks (SWANs) are being established to extend data connectivity of 2 Mega bits per second to reach up to the block level. according to Dayanidhi Maran, Minister of Communications and IT, the government has approved a scheme as part of NeGP, to establish 100,000 broadband enabled internet Common Services Centres (CSCs) in rural areas of the country to connect the citizens of rural India to the World Wide Web. [via release]
Indiantelevision.com adds that one of the main points of discussion at Commonwealth Connects was the convergence of regulators, and ministries that handle communications. Suggestions were also made for a compulsory rural rollout and making licensing technology neutral. Free online access to content has helped medical colleges in Africa, where books were too costly for students. More here.
All this talk about broadband connectivity and how it can help bridge the urban-rural divide has been going on for a long time now. How about providing reliable connectivity in urban areas first? One of the greatest impediments to spread of broadband in rural areas, or even B&C class towns will be the availability of power. I think the mobile will be a better option for delivering content than broadband. The other factor in favor of the mobile is that the secondary market progressively leads to a reduction in the price of handsets…
Related:
– Google India Plans Rural Push, Orkut In Other Indian Languages, Mobile Initiatives
– Banks Using Internet Kiosks To Market To Rural Consumers
– Mobiles As Educational Tools
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