There has been a lot of press devoted to making Broadband as an “essential commodity” as electricity. I shall come back to that a little later. However, be forewarned, there is not much of a cerebral discussion happening in the Indian media. We are all content with “broadband” or whatever version we have. If possible, refresh your memory from the previous posts I have made on the same issue.
From the archives:
1)Broadband Revolution in East Asian countries.
3)South Korea surges ahead in Broadband
4)Similarities between US and Indian approach towards Broadband.
Finally, the article in question:
Indian media, as I mentioned early on, hasn’t realised the effect of broadband on the economy. There have been no concerted efforts made to provide universal access. Neither there seems to be any urgency to scale up efforts. TRAI did try and make an effort but the whole exercise seems to have been caught in red tape.
I quote from the article : (interesting read and has much relevance for India)
Most people know broadband as an alternative to their old, slow dial-up Internet connection. These high-capacity data networks made of fiber-optic cables provide a constant, unbroken connection to the Internet. But broadband is about much more than checking your email or browsing on EBay. In the near future, telephone, television, radio and the web all will be delivered to your home via a single broadband connection. In the not-so-distant-future, broadband will be an indispensable part of economic, personal, and public life. Those countries that achieve universal broadband are going to hold significant advantages over those who don’t.
The same effect of having Socialism still lurking around or beaten to death communism.
While about 60 percent of U.S. households do not subscribe to broadband because it is either unavailable where they live or they cannot afford it, most Japanese citizens can access a high-speed connection that’s more than 10 times faster than what’s available here for just $22 a month. (Japan is now rolling out ultra-high speed access at more than 500 times what the Federal Communications Commission considers to be “broadband” in this country.)
The Japanese built their world-class system by ensuring “open access” to residential telephone lines, meaning competitors paid the same wholesale price to use the wires. The country is also establishing a super-fast, nationwide fiber system via a combination of tax breaks, debt guarantees and subsidies. But of particular note, the Japanese government also encouraged municipalities to build their own networks, especially in rural areas. Towns and villages willing to set up their own ultra-high-speed fiber networks received government subsidies covering approximately one-third of their costs.
We can do something similar to this in India too.
Rest of the post follows.
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