WiMAX can help bridge the digital divide

WiMAX can help bridge the digital divide

One quick way to bridge the digital divide can be a wide implementation of WiMAX, says Mr Muthu Logan, President and CEO of BroVis Wireless Networks. “WiMAX is going to revolutionise the acceptance of broadband and bridging the digital divide. It is a sure bet in our opinion,” he observed during an interaction with Business Line.

Dispelling a common myth that WiFi/WiMAX is typically used for the last-mile and extended enterprise applications within cities, Mr Logan says that the technology lends itself to rapid adaptation in rural areas.

BroVis, started in California five years ago, has its product development office in Chennai. The company is set to launch its new WiMAX initiative at the 16th Convergence India 2008 in New Delhi, later this month.

“Field trials and IOT (inter-operability testing) are already under way, with leading telcos, both within and outside India,” Mr Logan states. “We envision also leveraging our current installed base of service provider and enterprise customers.”

Would WiMAX substitute the existing WiFi installations? No, WiMAX would complement, instead, clarifies Mr Logan. “WiFi will continue to be used for the local access, while WiMAX provides the longer reach connectivity.”

He anticipates that WiMAX will not only help the large telcos and service providers but also the green-field operators, either to plug in to the ecosystem created by the large operators, or enable to set up their own networks in a cost-effective manner.

On the bridging of rural India and the unconnected areas to the Internet space, he feels that WiMAX solution can be cost-effective, and implemented in a short span of time, since no trenching is involved for laying wires.

“Brovis is currently working with a corporate house for setting up a rural information centre (RIC) in Tamil Nadu, which will embrace both WiFi and WiMAX,” informs Mr Logan.

“The centre, which is aimed at catering to a population within a radius of 10 km, is estimated to cost well under Rs 1 crore. This cost would cover about twenty PC systems, wireless networking, IT (information technology) applications and related servers, and video-conferencing capabilities.”

Considering that the wired infrastructure for data connectivity is virtually non-existent in many of the rural areas of India, Mr Logan feels, “WiMAX is the answer to blanket the whole country with broadband Internet connectivity.”