Microsoft to help Andhra Pradesh get low-cost Internet

HYDERABAD: Software giant Microsoft has teamed up with Andhra Pradesh to help the state deliver lowcost internet connectivity in rural areas through unused TV spectrum, the first initiative of its kind in the country.

Microsoft agreed on Friday to connect four educa tional institutions in Srikakulam district under a pilot project. The company has implemented the project on a pilot basis in Singapore, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania.

Microsoft India chairman Bhaskar Pramanik said the technology known as TV White Space helps address last-mile connectivity challenges and can be used during emergencies and disasters. The facility offered by Microsoft dynamically allocates unused TV spectrum for internet broadband transmission while regular TV transmissions continue uninterrupted, the AP chief minister's office said.

Compared to wifi, which has a 100-metre range, TV White Space propagates signals in a radius of at least 10 km.

"With this pilot project, Microsoft has shown that innovation and technology can make a society technologically advanced, eventually creating a knowledgebased economy ," CM N Chandrababu Naidu said.Microsoft has also agreed to offer the state a cloud-based machine learning solution for schools, Microsoft India R&D managing director Anil Bhansali said.