Description
Instead of creating Wi-Fi zones (a concept becoming popular abroad) should India not focus on cheap Night (Off peak) access through mobiles
Instead of creating Wi-Fi zones (a concept becoming popular
abroad), should India not focus on cheap Night (Off peak)
access through mobiles
B! "mit Bhushan #ate! $$
th
%un
&'$(
)edia and *elecom ser+ice pro+iders are celebrating mo+es b go+ernment and ci+ic
authorities to create Wi-Fi zones in public places, *his entails ci+ic authorities in+esting
in putting in in+estment in telecom infrastructure so that people can access internet
through their de+ices, -hile telecom ser+ice pro+ider offers ser+ices to push up use of
data ser+ices, *he data access charges ma be borne b user.customer or authorit
depending upon business model, In case of authorit bearing the charge, it -ill be
passed to user in some other form or to be passed to ta/ paers, *he localit or
institutions gets and image of being *ech friendl and impro+es in+estment climate or
inno+ation etc, etc, In practice it is offering con+enience to the rich -ith +er limited
impact on its o-n but a huge ne-s +alue -hich ma rub -ell -ith inbound tourists,
In India -here -e still ha+e large s-athes of our population not being able to access or
use connecti+it technologies like internet -here the ser+ices needed b the population
ma not be a+ailable or more importantl not a+ailable for use.access in the language of
the user.population, -hat -e basicall need is in+estment to push up the access and
usage b ma0orit, *his re1uires not Wi Fi zones in some ton corners of the cit or
airports, but free access around sa +illage post offices or +illage *ea stalls or public
places like bus stands, rail-a stations so that common people can a+ail or taste the
benefits, 2ubsid can be offered for a defined number of ears initiall post -hich these
should become chargeable,
*he go+ernment actions should be t-o pronged -here students and institutions should
be encouraged creating -ebsites offering ser+ices to users in different languages -hile
re-arding those local institutions like post offices, tea stalls, rail 3 bus stations -here
such sites in local languages are accessed b ma/imum number of users, *his creates
0obs for de+elopers as -ell as helps increase penetration of access de+ices like smart
phones, laptops etc, *his should bring in large s-athes of population to ha+e first hand
e/perience -ith connecti+it technologies and ha+e impact in terms of change in
ideolog due to such interactions, *his is assuming that a chunk of rural customer ma
stretch out to spare enough mone to procure access de+ices, a fe- de+elopers get
moti+ated and raise in+estments to set up some target user friendl -ebsites and
ser+ices and ecosstem becomes read for future, 4onsidering that such pro0ects ma
ha+e huge but indirect potential to raise producti+it, the go+ernment ma e/plore to get
cheap World bank long term financing and create suitable monitoring and
implementation mechanisms -hich ma include taking feedback from intended
beneficiaries and bringing in necessar inter+entions,
In terms of costs and challenges in monitoring, this poses some challenge for -hich
+illage panchaats ma be consulted, *he go+ernment institutions like bus stations and
rail stations -hich are +isited b large number of +isitors should be tracked using
technolog itself and in+estments should be -ithdra-n -here results ma not be
forthcoming, 5ater schemes for cheap access in off peak hours from pre and post paid
telecom pro+iders -ill take o+er to push connecti+it,
doc_696497979.doc
Instead of creating Wi-Fi zones (a concept becoming popular abroad) should India not focus on cheap Night (Off peak) access through mobiles
Instead of creating Wi-Fi zones (a concept becoming popular
abroad), should India not focus on cheap Night (Off peak)
access through mobiles
B! "mit Bhushan #ate! $$
th
%un
&'$(
)edia and *elecom ser+ice pro+iders are celebrating mo+es b go+ernment and ci+ic
authorities to create Wi-Fi zones in public places, *his entails ci+ic authorities in+esting
in putting in in+estment in telecom infrastructure so that people can access internet
through their de+ices, -hile telecom ser+ice pro+ider offers ser+ices to push up use of
data ser+ices, *he data access charges ma be borne b user.customer or authorit
depending upon business model, In case of authorit bearing the charge, it -ill be
passed to user in some other form or to be passed to ta/ paers, *he localit or
institutions gets and image of being *ech friendl and impro+es in+estment climate or
inno+ation etc, etc, In practice it is offering con+enience to the rich -ith +er limited
impact on its o-n but a huge ne-s +alue -hich ma rub -ell -ith inbound tourists,
In India -here -e still ha+e large s-athes of our population not being able to access or
use connecti+it technologies like internet -here the ser+ices needed b the population
ma not be a+ailable or more importantl not a+ailable for use.access in the language of
the user.population, -hat -e basicall need is in+estment to push up the access and
usage b ma0orit, *his re1uires not Wi Fi zones in some ton corners of the cit or
airports, but free access around sa +illage post offices or +illage *ea stalls or public
places like bus stands, rail-a stations so that common people can a+ail or taste the
benefits, 2ubsid can be offered for a defined number of ears initiall post -hich these
should become chargeable,
*he go+ernment actions should be t-o pronged -here students and institutions should
be encouraged creating -ebsites offering ser+ices to users in different languages -hile
re-arding those local institutions like post offices, tea stalls, rail 3 bus stations -here
such sites in local languages are accessed b ma/imum number of users, *his creates
0obs for de+elopers as -ell as helps increase penetration of access de+ices like smart
phones, laptops etc, *his should bring in large s-athes of population to ha+e first hand
e/perience -ith connecti+it technologies and ha+e impact in terms of change in
ideolog due to such interactions, *his is assuming that a chunk of rural customer ma
stretch out to spare enough mone to procure access de+ices, a fe- de+elopers get
moti+ated and raise in+estments to set up some target user friendl -ebsites and
ser+ices and ecosstem becomes read for future, 4onsidering that such pro0ects ma
ha+e huge but indirect potential to raise producti+it, the go+ernment ma e/plore to get
cheap World bank long term financing and create suitable monitoring and
implementation mechanisms -hich ma include taking feedback from intended
beneficiaries and bringing in necessar inter+entions,
In terms of costs and challenges in monitoring, this poses some challenge for -hich
+illage panchaats ma be consulted, *he go+ernment institutions like bus stations and
rail stations -hich are +isited b large number of +isitors should be tracked using
technolog itself and in+estments should be -ithdra-n -here results ma not be
forthcoming, 5ater schemes for cheap access in off peak hours from pre and post paid
telecom pro+iders -ill take o+er to push connecti+it,
doc_696497979.doc