Over the past few weeks, my life has been kind of topsy turvy. I have always been the proverbial night owl; never seen the rising sun in ages. However, BSNL has changed my life to an extent. I wake up early mornings to be able to catch the “free time”. Jokes apart, the download limits are pathetic.

What have I been doing with my broadband? Contrary to BSNL’s assertions,there is minimal use of peer to peer file sharing. At best, I am trying to download Kubuntu- the KDE based Ubuntu. I can be classified as a LEECHER in torrent lingo- though howsoever I desire to seed the files, I become aware of the huge usage charges that I would have to pay.

In anycase, over the past few weeks, I have been scouring around the Internet for information. Agreed that there is a huge repository of information- one can prevent himself from information deluge by being selective. For example, I rely on Digg to update me on Technology.

This is the era of open source and open access to information. Some medical journals allow free access for ip’s originating from Indian subcontinent which otherwise in print cost is prohibitive. However, the icing on the cake goes to Public Library of Science ( Plos ) which believes in true open access; in a way they have made an excellent resource totally free of cost.

The arguments for or against Open Access is totally out of scope here; the merits of the case rest on the fact that broadband has allowed the information at a faster rate.

Apart from the email or routine upload of my digital camera pictures on to Flickr, I discovered Skype. It has been there for quite sometime now- the hoopla seems to have died down. However, there have been many instances which show that how Skype has ushered in free pc to pc phone calls ( VoIP) and people from all over the world managing their businesses and lives. Had Ebay not taken over Skype, it was in the sidelines taking on competition to Yahoo’s Net2Phone and Google talk.

All this and more. Websites have hosted streaming audios and videos for desirious students to participate in debates or watch surgical operations. A dedicated website has various heart sounds online; hard to come by in clinical practise, I was able to fine tune myself to the topic at hand. (Arguably not my interest at all-Orthopaedics and Surgery rules my life!)

I remember the old dial up which was appropriately called as www or World Wide Wait. Truly we have come from those horror times; but as Rajesh Jain writes back and I quote:

” That same stifling is now being seen in broadband. We delight in calling 256 Kbps as broadband when countries like Japan and South Korea talk of speeds 10-20 times higher. This is where we lack imagination. We think of broadband as just a high-speed data line when it is really a fundamental building block for tomorrow’s world. Whether it is education or healthcare, we have to reinvent processes and workflows if we have to make up for all those lost decades – and a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure is one way to catch up and leapfrog.”

How very true. I would love to know as to how Internet has changed YOUR life- it would be illuminating to know your perspective too. As they say, its only our imagination that limits us- there is a lot that we can learn and gain; in a way contribute back to the same society that brings us on to this state.

Mr Maran- you are surely stuck in a time warp. Accept this fact.

Tags: Broadband, BSNL, File Sharing, Google, India, Internet, Open Source, Opera, Peer to peer, Telecommunications India, Yahoo

I am talking of the “REAL” broadband.

For months, I have been scratching my head about the utility of broadband. Forget peer to peer. It would be increasingly become underground as the Recording Companies go hammer and tongs at those who wish to share content. It’s out of scope here to discuss; it all depends as to how you look at the same.

Content ought to be in the local language to be meaningful. Similarly, broadband would make sense only if the people realise it’s utility. Plus of course, means of access. I really wonder whether people would start buying the sub 10k PC. I have argued earlier that price to performace ratio doesnt simply match. Plus, they are offering Red Hat Linux ( not a very bright distro in my opinion).

So, how do we define broadband in Indian context? Rajesh Jain on Emergic has some answers on The New Internet.

However, I beg to differ on the implementation of WiMax. It uses up huge amounts of spectrum- we are already in a policy mess over that. It isnt the replacement option to Wireline model which maybe expensive to start with, but cheaper in the long run.

It what is called as Internet 2.0 In India, it is wait admist screwed up policies and Government apathy.

Tags: Broadband, Broadband in India, India, Internet, Linux, Peer to peer, Spectrum, Telecommunications India

What Broadband can do for India?

Over the past few months, there has been intense speculation and excitement over broadband. Few established players like Sify absolutely screwed up the definition of what broadband is. For Sify users it became marginally better than dial up. At times even worse! Current definition of broadband (as per recommendations from TRAI) applies to always on connection at minimum defined speeds of 256 kbps. However, this was more in realization with the current infrastructure that India has. Download speeds of over and above 2 Mbps are usually taken as a broadband connection. However, it is an approximate indicator of what is possible. While the world moves in towards Mbps, we are still in the kbps era. A small step is a small leap anyway for India!

What broadband can do? I have tried to compile a list of possible scenarios and the readers are welcome to share their ideas on that. Please note that this is suggestive and not an exhaustive compilation.

Broadband is means of fast data transfer over the traditional copper wires or the cable wires that get the cable TV in your homes. This is called a CAT 5 cable. The best mode of transfer for the data transfer is the optic fiber. However, despite falling costs, it is costly to set up and maintain.

For a power user, one who is always connected online, broadband connection gives almost a limitless supply of software through file sharing. The peer to peer (p2p) networks are best described as forms of digital communism. Further discussion is out of scope here though. Broadband helps is fast data transfers that these networks need for file sharing. Entertainment is a big business now. TV shows and live web casts are possible through broadband. This means that one can record a program of your choice and playback whenever feasible. This concept is taking US by storm with the development of TiVo. With the current speeds, this seems to be far-fetched idea in India. I believe that Reliance has collaborated with Microsoft to get this technology to India. The concept would take time to get off the ground.

However, the real broadband can potentially transform India into a knowledge-based economy. The movement towards a paperless office would be a reality. E-governance would soon happen. This means that the government offices would be interlinked with a central server and requesting files over the network. This distinct possibility has already been set up in Andhra Pradesh. The entire land records have been digitized and set up on the network. This removes any scope for ambiguity. ITC also set up its e-chaupals network linking through VSATs. This has had an amazing effect on the local economy, as the farmers are able to get a higher price for their produce.

The connectivity can do wonders for self-employment. With falling prices for computers and laptops, working at home is a distant possibility. This is particularly useful in metropolitan cities where increasing traffic jams take a huge amount of time and effort in commuting from one end to another. Work could be moved from one part of the city or country through networks. Employment through setting up of cyber cafes has revolutionized the way Indians access electronic resources.

Health care remains one area that could potentially benefit from broadband. Regular web casts of continued medical education helps the doctors to update themselves without leaving their practices. That too, in the comfort of their homes. There is a pilot project in United Kingdom, which monitors the asthma and diabetes management using web cameras over broadband networks. This has the potential to reduce the caregiver costs and hopefully reduce the burden of the doctors in the resource intensive settings. E-Healthcare can help doctors sitting in far flung areas to have a second opinion in case of complicated management. The first initiative was again taken by Apollo hospitals as means of outreach in the far-flung rural health centers. Traditionally far-flung villages have been left out of the outreach of health care initiatives. Broadband reach can effectively mitigate the problem to a large extent.

Broadband can of course help one to update about the latest advances in medicine. Increasingly resources are being freed for the developing countries, which mean that it is possible to update with the best in the field. I have personally found my own horizon expanding while interacting with doctors from other countries.

Businesses tend to benefit the most. Trading online in stock markets and up to minute news and tracking becomes a reality, broadband remains imperative. Industrial units needing to set up networking to track inventory or implement virtual networking tend to maximize their profits on their investments. Of course the BPO units employing the maximum number of fresh graduates. Even if the model is flawed, yet it is generating employment.

Another fascinating development is Voice over Internet protocol. Vonage in US is offering traditional calls over broadband networks where plans include unlimited calls across US for a flat monthly fee. Cisco India has recently started offering VoIP across the company’s network. Of course, they need to be connected to broadband networks. The icing on the cake is the p2p VoIP called as Skype. It has challenged the traditional phone networks. It offers free unlimited calls to any other Skype user across the world. This is an excellent avenue for saving on those international calls. VoIP has progressed tremendously and over the broadband networks, the voice clarity is almost similar to the ones over the traditional network.

As I mentioned broadband access has untold benefits. However, it so frustrating when authorities restrict access to the same according to what they think is right. It is not the matter of time though. Already 50+ years have elapsed and we are still bound with the developing country tag. If the popular perception about India is not as an IT superpower or that India aspiring to have a greater role in the world affairs, then perhaps I am willing to be insulted in the name of Internet access. High prices should not be a dampener for a broadband revolution that has to happen now! I came across somewhere on the forums where a Japanese advertisement had been translated. It said “Still stuck at 56 Mbps? Move up”!

Where are we in India stuck up at?

Discuss on: Sify Broadband, Tata Indicom, Airtel Broadband, Reliance Broadband, MTNL – BSNL Broadband, Dial Up, Others

This post was submitted by Dr. Abhishek Puri on the Broadband Blog on Techwhack.

Tags: Advertisement, Airtel, Airtel Broadband, author, Broadband, Broadband access, BSNL, BSNL Broadband, EDGE, File Sharing, GUI, India, Indians, Internet, laptop, Linux, Microsoft, MTNL, Peer to peer, Reliance, Reliance Broadband, Tata, Tata Indicom, Telecommunications India, TRAI, United Kingdom