SWAN - KC in every village
The TRAI, DoT and DIT along with various industry players as well as NGOs have time and again outlined the importance of ICT reaching the rural India. Wi-Fi and WiMax have been touted as the future.
Though having a KC in every village seems fine, I am still pro-mobiles for communication. This doesn't really mean that we take a step back and do not endorse the new technology, but I have certain issues with the whole WiMax is the thing strategy.
1. Before bringing in KCs with computers, literacy rates need to be determined, even if some people are computer-literate, does this not mean that again, we bring a different inequality in the community set-up. It may be said that people can be taught, but till that education-gap is not filled in, do we keep the plans on hold? Most projects in the country have a deadline of say 2007/8, is that enough?
2. A mobile phone is much cheaper compared to a computer still.
3. The shop-round-the-corner has not been replaced by the E-shop even in the cities, for rural India then, what exactly are they looking at? What is the effective utility of a KC for a villager?
4. Wi-Fi and WiMax in rural sectors will be be high profit ventures and will either be started by the government or some NGO, so what is the financial viability of these projects, how do they sustain?
5. Now if the govt. or say one single organisation brings in this kind of a project in various villages, are they not in effect reverting back to a monopoly?
These are just a few issues, many more will follow. I am not against ICT reaching the villages, but I guess its time where the Indian ICT industry for once, makes a policy first and then implements it, not the vice versa as has been the case esp in the whole de-regularization process.
Though having a KC in every village seems fine, I am still pro-mobiles for communication. This doesn't really mean that we take a step back and do not endorse the new technology, but I have certain issues with the whole WiMax is the thing strategy.
1. Before bringing in KCs with computers, literacy rates need to be determined, even if some people are computer-literate, does this not mean that again, we bring a different inequality in the community set-up. It may be said that people can be taught, but till that education-gap is not filled in, do we keep the plans on hold? Most projects in the country have a deadline of say 2007/8, is that enough?
2. A mobile phone is much cheaper compared to a computer still.
3. The shop-round-the-corner has not been replaced by the E-shop even in the cities, for rural India then, what exactly are they looking at? What is the effective utility of a KC for a villager?
4. Wi-Fi and WiMax in rural sectors will be be high profit ventures and will either be started by the government or some NGO, so what is the financial viability of these projects, how do they sustain?
5. Now if the govt. or say one single organisation brings in this kind of a project in various villages, are they not in effect reverting back to a monopoly?
These are just a few issues, many more will follow. I am not against ICT reaching the villages, but I guess its time where the Indian ICT industry for once, makes a policy first and then implements it, not the vice versa as has been the case esp in the whole de-regularization process.
posted by Unknown @ 5:57 AM
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