Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Monday 9 April 2018

FREE BROADBAND FOR EVERYONE ? HERE IS HOW


A  Welcome  Initiative

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Business Line ( 06 April ) carries following news :





The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has mooted a concept of open architecture-based public Wi-Fi grid to bring down the cost of internet by 90 per cent.


By doing so, it will allow small entrepreneurs such as tea stalls, grocery shops and vendors to set up and maintain access points. Device manufacturers, payment companies, ISPs / telcos and consumer internet companies can provide the remaining pieces to set up public data offices (PDOs), it said on Thursday.


“Broadband proliferation across the country is an important pillar of ‘Digital India’. Wi-Fi is the cheapest option, given low-cost of equipment and free spectrum,” RS Sharma, Chairman, TRAI, said.


The regulator’s concept involves PDOs — much like PCOs of yester-years that galvanised connectivity. The PDOs will be companies, or even small merchants, interested in providing Wi-Fi hotspots to public either free or on payment model, it said.


Sharma presented a report on ‘public Wi-Fi open pilot project’ to Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, outlining the success of the first phase of trials it had conducted.


According to the report, the products available for consumption should begin from ‘sachet sized’, that is, low denomination, as low as 2.


It said users should be able to easily discover the network, do one-click authentication and payment and connect their devices in Wi-Fi hotspots. “ The experience for small entrepreneurs to purchase, self-register, set up a PDO must be simple, low touch and maintenance free,” it said.


TRAI had earlier come out with recommendations on proliferation of broadband through public Wi-Fi networks that were sent to DoT on March 9.


The regulator has now suggested moving ahead from the pilot to the next phase, which will involve working with the participants of the pilot in Delhi and Bengaluru, and creation of a testing and certification framework.





India cannot progress without ensuring that all of its 1.3 billion citizen are internet connected


And since following agencies / firms are working towards this , it may happen sooner than later :




*   Government’s own fibre optic project to connect 2.2 lakh Gram Panchayat


*   All mobile service providers rushing in to launch 5 G network ( especially , JIO )







*   Google experimenting with launch of Loons ( internet balloons ) /










*   Microsoft trying to launch its “ White Space “ technology in India



But there is no doubt , all of these ( except the Indian Government ) , are commercial establishments and would want to recover their costs / investments , in some manner from those “ tea stalls, grocery shops and vendors  “


It is also possible that , in order to gain a competitive advantage over the neighbouring shops , some of these PDOs may offer their “ internet connectivity “ free to their customers



But what we need is :

FREE internet connectivity to every Indian , everywhere , all the time



Here is my suggestion to achieve that :


*  Very soon , whole of India will switch over to LED lamps ( street lamps – homes –
    shops – offices – factories etc )


*  Within next few months , electric power will reach all the villages under “ Saubhagya “

Broadband over Power Lines  has established that internet can be delivered over
    simple electrical distribution network ( - that means , to every place in India )




    I believe, this technology is already working in USA – Canada – Europe etc



*  Li-Fi technology can deliver internet to all internet-connected devices , which are
    receiving light from an LED lamp , placed above


Li-Fi provides better bandwidth, efficiency, connectivity and security than Wi-Fi and has already achieved high speeds larger than 1 Gbps under the laboratory conditions. By leveraging the low-cost nature of LEDs and lighting units, there are lots of opportunities to exploit this medium. Li-Fi is the transfer of data through light by taking fibre out of fibre optics and sending data through LED light bulb




*  If that electric power comes from a roof-top mounted Solar Panel , even that power is
   free of cost


But the “ Holy Grail “ of “ Free Internet “could well be following , which made news some years back :


Every smart phone turning into a “ Signal Repeater Tower “ , enabling voice / data to jump from one ( nearby ) mobile to another ( next ) mobile , whichever is “ inactive “ at the moment


And keep jumping till the signal reaches its destination !


I urge Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji to ask  Prof  Ashok Jhunjhunwala  to examine / evaluate my suggestion , along with the proposal prepared by Shri Sharma



08  April  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs 


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