Microsoft to use 'white space' tech for free internet in rural India
- Last November, the Microsoft company began experimenting with the unused spectrum between TV channels, known as 'white space', to provide internet services to a a school in the Srikakulam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
- The 200-300 MHz spectrum band available in the white space can reach up to 10 km. This spectrum belongs mainly to Doordarshan (Indian public broadcaster) and the government and is not used at all."We have sought clearance for a pilot project in two districts." said Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman, Microsoft India.
- "This initiative addresses this challenge in a cost-effective manner and creates an eco-system that will benefit everyone, including manufacturers of routers and other technology devices, other technology companies, besides Microsoft," Pramanik said.
- Microsoft, which was part of an international consortium that included BT, Nokia and BBC, conducted the most widespread field trials on white space-based Internet connectivity in Cambridge, US, in 2011.
- The technology hasn't been widely adopted anywhere in the world, but experts believe it can lead to a spurt in broadband connectivity in countries such as India.
- Engineers at Microsoft development centres in India have adapted this unlicensed technology for this country.
- If the pilot projects go as planned, Microsoft's initiative could be rolled out across the country and help Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India program move forward and enable governance for all citizens in India.
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