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Content and Application will Facilitate Growth
(, September 2005)
The government has recently earmarked 256 Kbps as broadband-class bandwidth. It is a good start, but quite basic considering international scenario. Hong Kong has moved up from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps residential broadband. The broadband scenario in lndia is limited to only the metropolitan areas. To add a real meaning to the revolution, it has to reach out to every district and block in the country. It should be treated at par with electricity, water and telephone.
The popularity of broadband will be linked to its perceived utility. Today, the internet is utilised by a vast majority of users for e-mail and internet research, for which 256 Kbps is actually far too much. Bandwidth-rich applications are yet to make way. Moving on, the key drivers of broadband will be in the areas of telephony, education, entertainment and the healthcare space.
Widespread "always on" connectivity will surely drive the usage of VoIP and vice versa. It has been seen in many countries that first time broadband subscribers are switching over from dial-up/narrowband services in order to take advantage of low-cost and efficient VoIP services. In education, virtual classrooms, where students do not have to travel distances to schools and colleges, will he in demand, especially in developing nations. Online discourses, tutorials and examinations will be necessary for empowering universal education where broadband will be used to impart knowledge. Even video conferencing is a good tool, but the initial equipment cost is still viewed as prohibitively high. The "killer application "for deriving broadband is still at large.
Similarly, online shopping is picking up and becoming a trend. As more and more people start shopping online, the momentum will have to be sustained. For this, it is essential to make the experience richer and more realistic with availability of sufficient bandwidth. Remote management of security for homes and business premises over IP networks will drive demand for broadband. Surveillance, alarm and retardants will get enabled over broadband. Telemedicine is a fairly new trend and an area of growing interest. It is a necessity especially in skill-short developing countries. It could be further enhanced and expanded only on the backbone of are liable bandwidth service.
For any technology to go mainstream and find maximum applications and utility, one of the biggest customers is the government. With e-governance being the new mantra, it has significant potential to bring about convenience, transparency and efficacy in government functions.
There are a number of steps that need to be taken in this direction to make broadband a reality. An initial step can be in promoting wireless connectivity in rural areas and metros. Then, unbundling of last mile copper lines, besides developing appropriate broadband content and applications, are just some other measures, which can be taken in the right direction. The revolution has begun but there is still a long way to go.
Hence, it is time we start increasing die scope of broadband from just e-mail to more value added applications. Effective use of broadband in automation of operations and functions, innovative use of technology in imparting education and increasing literacy will drive the penetration of broadband in India. Internet and broadband needs to go to every household in the country. |
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