Baramati goes global with a brand new WiMax network
In keeping with the union agriculture minister’s aim of making his constituency a global show piece, Baramati went live with its own WiMax network on a pilot-project basis.
By TNN |
BARAMATI: In keeping with the union agriculture minister’s aim of making his constituency a global show piece, Baramati went live with its own WiMax network on a pilot-project basis.
This wide area wireless network will cover the the Vidya Institute of Information Technology campus, Baramati town and nearby villages at speeds of 512 kbps, in a 25-km radius. This makes it the first WiMAX deployment in the state, with Pune’s project — also being set up by Intel — delayed due to Trai raising issues over spectrum allocation and the commercial nature of the deployment in Pune.
The Baramati deployment is a pilot project which will scale up. Craig Barrett, chairman, Intel, made a strong case for India to use WiMax, as it would open up large tracts of rural India, where infrastructure is limited.
“This long-range broad band wireless capability is relatively inexpensive and simple especially where infrastructure availability is limited. It covers large areas and there are currently 200 WiMax trials on globally with 40-50 commercial implementations. India is a leading location in wireless and it has open rural areas with limited infrastructure where this technology could be used. The government needs to assign spectrum,” Mr Barrett said.
Addressing a press conference which was hooked up to 16 cities across the country, Mr Barrett added Intel was waiting for the Centre’s report on hardware manufacturing and the incentives it will offer to companies setting up plants in the country.
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“We are waiting to see the government’s position and the level of incentives provided will decide if we invest,” he stated. Meanwhile, it has focused on rural markets in India and other developing economies to push its products. Intel’s focus on community personal computers (PCs) is showing up with the release, in March, of a low-cost full featured desktop PC platform for use in developing countires. Hence, after its Mexico launch, India is the next destination.
It is also developing a personal learning mobile computer designed for classroom use in developing countries by classes V-X. The community PC, designed for internet kiosks in rural India, Intel expects to spread its deployment in other countries, too.
However, it is developing separate models to target specific countries and cultures. “How technology is used in each country is different, in Egypt, China, Brazil and India. The usage pattern is different and we are trying to tailor to local needs,” he said.
Hence, the model it introduces in China is expected to the cheapest fully featured mainstream PC, about 5-6% lower in cost than the standard retail price. In India, though, community PCs are designed for small communities, with shared access. This ruggedised machine, capable of running on a car battery with filters to keep out the dust, is priced in the range of Rs 25,000-27,000.
It was a hectic visit for the Intel chairman, accompanied by wife Barbara, and the chip maker’s top management team in India. Accompanying them was Sharad Pawar, union agriculture minister. Mr Barrett stressed that pushing community PCs ensures accessibility more than ownership. “Purchasing a computer is not the answer, access is. So, kiosks are ways to access technology,” he said.
Mr Barrett and his entourage stopped first at the Vidya Pratisthan’s Marathi medium School, followed by a visit to the Healthcare Centre, Rui, where a digital healthcare centre has been created for cardiac and opthalmology care. This centre gets 1.2 lakh referral patients from the surrounding seven primary healtcare centres and timely expert diagnosis is often denied.
The digital initiative will allow for images including an ECG, to be despatched to the expert sitting either at Bangalore or in Madurai. Online patient management is thus possible. Next stop was at Katewadi, Mr Pawar’s birthplace, where a common services centre was inaugurated.
Among the services provided at the centre are rail and airline bookings in addition to more mundane services like calling cards, agriculture farm prices, horoscopes, etc. On their last stop at 13-year-old Aarti Gund’s home, whose persistence led to her maternal uncle buying a computer, the Barretts presented her with a laptop.
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The extended family of the Dhawans claims it has been able to get better and higher yields from their 35 acres of land. It was here, at Pimpale Dhawan vasti, that Mr Pawar and Mr Barrett had a closed door meeting, in a small stone room, adjoining the Dhawan home. Company officials stood guard outside the room.
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