A report prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry on broadband usage in the country has said India should target a minimum of 10 million urban subscribers by 2010 and 35 million by 2020.
Connectivity and services, if designed appropriately, innovatively and if implemented effectively, can be a key driver for several socio-economic gains including economic growth and employment generation, according to the CII-DIT-DOT final report on the Broadband Economy: Vision 2010.
Broadband connectivity and services will positively impact education, health, governance and citizen empowerment required to achieve the economic goals for all citizens including the rural population that cannot be covered effectively using traditional brick and mortar solutions.
The study was conducted by IBM Business Consulting Services in association with CII, with the support of the Department of Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications.
The CII report targets to achieve broadband coverage for at least 50 per cent of the rural population by 2010 and 100 percent by 2020 through rural broadband kiosks. The report has targeted 100,000 kiosks by 2010 and 620,000 kiosks by 2020.
According to the report, at the core of any rural broadband/connectivity model in India is the kiosk as an aggregator of demand and a central infrastructure for the entire village.
This is the only proven system by which the rural population will be able to take advantage of broadband or any form of connectivity services on a cost-effective and sustainable basis.
The CII National Broadband Economy Committee has adopted a dynamic and flexible definition of broadband that is technology neutral and focussed towards delivery of services to the end user, rather than on speed.
The study identifies potential key drivers of broadband and recommends making appropriate e-education, e-health, e-governance, entertainment and e-commerce services available through broadband connectivity to all cities, towns and villages in India.
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