Broadband in Rural India:

New Business Models

for Inclusive Growth
Narinder Chhibber
India
Topics
India Telecom landscape
Rural broadband initiatives
Challenges for low broadband penetration
National F/O Network & Last-mile access
Business models being planned in Rural India
Health-care
Village schools
Banks and Post offices
Agriculture
.Conclusion
Indian Telecom Landscape
1.23 billion people, 300 million households
70 % Indians live in villages
Large mobile base-850 million; Low internet
Only 18 million Broadband-512kbps / 2 Mb/s
180 million Internet users, the third largest
High cost of access and usage
Narrow range of access and applications
Lack of awareness and low digital literacy
Some rural broadband initiatives
ITC e-Choupal
N-Logue
MS Swaminathan centre in Pondicherry
Akshaya in Kerala
Gyandoot in MP with focus on e-Governance
Bhoomi in Karnataka
E-seva in Godavari District of AP
Warana in Maharashtra by NIC
Aksh Broadband
Jagriti in Punjab
Reasons for low Broadband
penetration in rural India
Poor infra, Frequent power-cuts
High cost of internet access and usage
Low digital literacy and lack of
awareness
About 16 different local languages
Internet based simple applications
needed
National Optic Fiber Network(NOFN)
Govt. of India project: cost USD 4 Bn - USOF
High speed Internet for video, voice calling ,
for e-services, schools, banking, health, retail
Fiber transport core layer:
From Districts to Block level using DWDM
Middle-mile Layer:
Block to Village Panchayats using GPON
Last-mile:
From 2,50,000 Panchayats to 638,619 villages
Technologies: WiFi, 3G, 4G or wired
NOFN (Contd.)
Right-of-Way signed with intervening states
Strong Middle Mile to build sustainable demand
Future Proofing of F/O Cable Network-100Mbps
A parallel upgrade of core to meet future
demands may be required
Last-mile to be provided by Public/private
business
Devices at User-end: PC, laptop, Tablet, Smart
phones; ST-Boxes, VoIP Terminals, Retail POS
Service Providers in Rural Areas
Middle-mile for delivery of e-services at
Panchayats thru Common Service Centers
Last-mile to be provided by Private Operators
may require collaboration with Govt.
Village level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) for services
Content Service Provider
CPE Providers
Access providers
Technology Providers
To Schools, Healthcare Centers, Banks /Post-
offices Agri-cooperatives, Trading /finance
companies, households
Business models for rural areas
For low-income group, low computer literacy
Public Private Panchayat Partnership
Return for state bodies
- Tangible social return employment
generation and skill building for local people
- Viability / profit for private enterprises
Delivery to Common Service centers
For schools, medical centers, Banks, Agriculture
Health Centers
66% rural people do not have access to healthcare
Aims at Universal Health Coverage
Models:
1. Commercial telemedicine Centers owned & run
by private healthcare providers with Govt. help
2. VLE provides telemedicine services thru private
players at Gram Panchayats
Consultation fee recovered by private service
provider
Govt support thru partial reimbursement
Village Schools
Teacher to pupil ratio lower than 1:40
Poor quality of education standard
Microsoft led project Shiksha to train teachers
& students in Govt schools
Models:
1. ICT Centers in schools, set up by private
enterprises
2. Vocational training courses on-line thru CSC
Investment required for computers, Video
Conferencing & back-up power supply
Post Offices and Banks
Nearly 60 % of rural population is unbanked
30 % villages have at least one bank branch
90 percent of post offices are in villages
Computerization of Post-offices in progress
Models
1. Rural banks tie-up with ICT enabled post-offices
Banking agents access the nearby post-offices
2. Third party led business model using Business
Correspondent (BC) network
Transaction fee on Govt. cash transfer scheme
Agriculture
60 % of rural population has agriculture as
main source of livelihood
Info on crop insurance; weather information;
price; marketing/market access to sell
produce
Models
1. e-agriculture desk with mobile apps set up &
operated by private parties
2. to be operated by VLE
Conclusion
NOFN, a huge project by Govt. of India
Funded out of USOF
Last-mile connectivity by private operators
Thorough experiments with Pilot projects in
different parts of the country carried out
Coordinated effort by Govt. locals bodies &
private enterprises to ensure smooth working
Commercial interests of private operators be
safe-guarded to ensure success of project