What’s your wishlist for how the internet can become a transformative power in India by 2020, and not just an enabler? A range of industry experts offered insights into India’s internet story, and potential for future impacts. Keynote speakers and an interactive panel discussed a number of such digital media issues at the launch of the…
Last month, I met Imbesat Ahmad and Sharique Ahmad, two young men who are trying to make competitive exams a little easy for young aspirants in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the Valley. The two have developed an app called Rise, which provides students with study material, counselling and information on courses and examinations, among…
In a continent where literacy still remains a significant concern, the Indian government hopes that providing Desi email IDs would encourage more people to get online, in a way that suits citizens, by removing the language barrier. The Indian census of 1961 recognised over a thousand languages spoken in India, of which only 22 languages…
On August 15, 1995, VSNL launched commercial internet access in India. What began as a trickle has gathered momentum as the internet and mobile phones have transformed urban Indian in unprecedented ways (see the NetChakra Chronology of the internet in India). These are still early years, which more adoption and innovation ahead – as explained…
* While New York is setting up 10,000 Wi-Fi stations across the city, India currently has around 31,518 wi-fi hotspots and a recent paper prepared by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) states that in order to reach the global benchmark of one hotspot for every 150 citizens, India needs to add 8 lakh more…
SRINAGAR: Kashmir has been completely cut off from the internet after broadband services were suspended today. Mobile internet services have been snapped since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani on July 8.However, the services are active in Bemina, Lal Chowk and Sonawar areas of Srinagar — where most of the government offices are located.…
DEHRADUN: An RTI activist’s tweet has done for 10,000 residents of Dudhali village, near Dehradun, what numerous complaints could not. A tweet on the BSNL exchange shutting down in the absence of a power back-up reached Union communication minister Manoj Sinha, who ensured prompt action and the exchange coming back to life.
Making Wifi facility available to five villages in Nagpur has become a cause for concern for the state government, with each user found to be consuming average 15GB per month. So much so, the state is now mulling introducing some sort of financial model to make Wifi self-sustainable for these villages. With plans afoot to…
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is expected to issue its final recommendations in a month’s time on the issue of free data, which has been opposed by telecom service providers and some internet content providers alike. A senior Trai official told The Indian Express that the exercise was aimed to increase the overall…
Facebook is holding talks with a number of ISPs in India to expand its Express Wi-Fi programme, after trials in rural areas in partnership with BSNL. Express Wi-Fi, aimed at making broadband in rural areas more affordable, rolled out 125 rural public Wi-Fi hotspots with the state-run operator as part of a pilot project, the Economic Times…