14 ms·

India announces plan to connect 600k villages with optical fiber in 1000 days

186 points by ra7 6y ago

newyankee 6y ago
That is very ambitious but i hope this can mean open access education can be delivered to the poorest of poor. Having 2-4 LED TVs with latest educational content directly streamed. The overworked teachers should become guides to the students.
- 4silvertooth 6y ago
  India has dedicated satellites for distance education called EDUSAT.
  - aitchnyu 6y ago
    I tried Googling about programs delivered by Edusat but got no luck.
acd 6y ago
I think fiber would be the best option for speed.
- f311a 6y ago
  I think it’s not about speed, it’s about distance that fiber can handle.
  - tumblewit 6y ago
    That and the fact that the docsis networks here are so congested that it would make Internet quite unusable if strained (I use docsis and it’s a mess currently due to increased demand). I also think fiber has become cheap enough (the cabling) that the cost can be justified. Installing DSL and Docsis is not worth it given the high demand and future upgrades possible with fiber ...
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- throw0101a 6y ago
  No doubt, though I'm also curious about architecture. Most of these types of deployments tend to go with a GPON variant, with passive optical splitters: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_optical_network https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_optical_network However sometimes 'Active' (transitional?) Ethernet is used, which may cost more from a fibre perspective, but the gear at the end can then be traditional Ethernet which allows for taking advantage of economies of scale from the enterprise world: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_Infrastructure_Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_In... Have any details been released on what they're going to use? Anyone have experience with running PON that could comment on the pros/cons?
  - ixfo 6y ago
    It will likely be point to point optical networking (Ethernet/OTN) on these links. Once you get to the last mile, PON (probably GPON for now; XGS-PON is starting to come down in cost now, but is still probably 2x GPON generally). Point to point kit is cheaper till you get to the customer-facing aggregation, at which point per-port cost of PON vs PtP is much more in PON's favour, and PON customer kit is very cheap from benefits of scale. PON on the other hand isn't good for long range links. Even amplified (which is £££, and not normally sensible) it has quite a low range compared to point to point at the higher split ratios that make the cost of kit per user so attractive.
    - throw0101a 6y ago
      > Point to point kit is cheaper till you get to the customer-facing aggregation, at which point per-port cost of PON vs PtP is much more in PON's favour, and PON customer kit is very cheap from benefits of scale. Is there a cross-over point when one becomes cheaper than the other? Total number of customers, customer per kilometre run, customer/population density, other? > PON on the other hand isn't good for long range links. There are certainly 'traditional' Ethernet AOM optics that can reach 40 and even 80 km (before getting into the long-haul stuff from the likes of Ciena), but given that most PONs seem to reach at least 20 km for not-outrageous splitter ratios (1:8 ~ 40km, 1:16 ~ 25-30km, 1:32 ~ 15-20km), how far does one actually need to go for most fibre runs? A recent video on Utopia Fibre has them using AON, and they claim it ended up generally being cheaper: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e9DNwInTE4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e9DNwInTE4 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_Infrastructure_Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_In...
setum 6y ago
While at it, they should also put up a pole every village (like electric pole) with high range WiFi router. This will remove the last 100m connectivity hurdle and everyone with a WiFi device can get a taste of high speed internet.
- rayanimesh 6y ago
  Disclaimer : I live in a village in Rajasthan. People will still the WiFi device and sell it for pennies. They don't spare road light in many parts of cities.
  - p1esk 6y ago
    Would 5g service be a better solution?
    - nirav72 6y ago
      5g still needs backhaul infrastructure.
      - p1esk 6y ago
        Yes, we’re talking about the last mile
    - gpm 6y ago
      Everyone has wifi enabled hardware to use as a client, no one has 5g hardware, so no?
      - p1esk 6y ago
        In 1000 days everyone will have 5g service on their phones
        gpm 6y ago
        Many people in first world countries will. Some people in first world countries and probably most in Indian villages don't even have 4g yet. So I doubt that in 1000 days they will have 5g when we are barely producing any devices today with that capability.
marchammknd 6y ago
Ok, but wouldn’t just providing clean drinking water for example be more critical for most of those families?
- kcsomisetty 6y ago
  I would say both are priorities, govt efforts can't be in sequential priority. what about villages that already have access to water, should they wait for other things until all villages catchup ? imagine access to youtube & vast knowledge, may be it will spur the commom folk to take matter into their own hands and improve their lives.
  - NullPrefix 6y ago
    >what about villages that already have access to water, should they wait for other things until all villages catchup ? It would be more appropriate to broaden the scale and raise this question in relation to the whole world, not just the other villages.
  - TedShiller 6y ago
    I would say providing clean water + food should always be prioritized over internet access
    - kcsomisetty 6y ago
      That's not how government priorities work. Should we cancel NASA budget because there were homeless people? Should we reduce public library budget because of people are suffering due to police brutality? Every section of government is different with its own budget and goals, because a nation can move forward on all fronts. Nobody is saying that providing clean water is not a priority. Provide fast internet is just a new priority on table. it does not necessarily mean reducing priority for other items.
- flintmichigan 6y ago
  I wish I had that too.
nix23 6y ago
Please India, if you're done with that, can you come to Germany?
- koevet 6y ago
  Was going to say something along this line. Is disheartening to live in a first world country (center of Berlin) that happens to have the strongest economy in the Euro zone, and have such a slow internet that I can't even watch Netflix after 8 Pm (and having to pay 50 euro/month)
  - ChuckNorris89 6y ago
    laughs in gigabit fiber for 10 euro/month in Eastern Europe The reason why you're in this situation is that under Helmut Kohl, despite advice from experts to use fiber, the German government wired the whole country with copper instead because the ministry of infrastructure at the time had stocks in the copper business.[1] And also, in present times, German politicians still don't see the value the internet brings to a country so it was never a priority. Some even have employees print them pages off the internet so they can read them in paper form. For them, the backbone of German economy is IG Metall factories so they never understand how could one ever make money with the internet. As proof of this all one has to do is look at the DAX and see that none of the companies there bar SAP are software companies. I see this as a mentality problem in German leadership, as it's only two big fintech companies, Wirecard and N26, are bombing hard while competitors from Sweden and the UK like Klarna and Monzo are flourishing. And I'm sure the engineers in Germany are just as good as the ones in Sweden and the UK. [1]https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/deutschland-warum-unsere-handynetze-so-schlecht-sind-kolumne-a-1297362.html https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/deutschland-warum-unsere...
    - lioeters 6y ago
      > ..under Helmut Kohl, despite advice from experts to use fiber, the German government wired the whole country with copper instead because the ministry of infrastructure at the time had stocks in the copper business. Such abuse of public position ought to be a criminal offence - they profited at the cost of setting the country back a decade (or more!) in terms of modern infrastructure. Ubiquitous, fast, and maybe even free Internet - it seems logical and obvious that this is the ideal we should be moving towards, to benefit the whole country/world and future generations.
spellunkskunk 6y ago
Catering to domestic demand rather than to china's demands https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/china-extends-anti-dumping-tariff-indian-optical-fiber-72344654 https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/china-extends-an...
- schemy 6y ago
  India is going to overtake China in population by 2022, and the Indian population pyramid is lagging China's by 30-40 years. This is going to be a very interesting time when China overtakes the US in the nominal size of GDP, only to have India start doing what China did to the US before it even happens. We might be looking at the 30 Chinese years instead of the Chinese century.
- blueblisters 6y ago
  I am actually surprised that India has a big and competitive enough optical fiber industry that exports to China for China to raise punitive anti-dumping tariffs.
  - manquer 6y ago
    Fibre is relatively low tech compared to Fabs and chip industry. Perhaps it is a function of raw material costs ? While compared to western standards Chinese labour remains cheap, it is expensive compared to East Asia and India who are poorer than China and have less purchasing power.
ramshanker 6y ago
As per article "1.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country have been connected with optical fiber". Each gram panchayats consists from 1 to 10 village. Average may be 4. So now we are talking about branching out the Gram-Panchayat connection to all villages under it's adminnistration. Totally doable. Of course there are still some remote villages/panchayats without Fiber. 2nd important point is monetization model, because these thing require maintenance. Private telecom players have mostly given up to participate in this Bharat-Net connectivity scheme. They seem to prefer their own Microwave backhaul for village cluster. That leaves National Telecom Operator BSNL which is not really in good financial shape. Still I believe this is doable.
onetimemanytime 6y ago
Have seen about 10 miles done in a day. How? By piggybacking on already lined 10Kv lines. About 1 meter under the lines put a galvanized steel bracket on each concrete pole and go. 3 people in one day laid 10 miles. If they had to put their own poles would have delayed but by a little. So it's doable and in countries like India, labor is virtually free and rules /permits are nonexistent so costs are low. Edit: India will become a superpower. It will not happen in a day or 1000 but with our (US) help they will, and will keep China in check.
- xmprt 6y ago
  Step 1 is to stop emigrating from India to the US the moment you get a chance. I'm guilty of it as are many of my friends but it doesn't help develop a country when their brightest minds don't have enough faith to stay.
  - onetimemanytime 6y ago
    They will come back with lots of knowledge, money and connections.
puranjay 6y ago
As an Indian, I've heard countless plans like these every few years. I'll get excited when it actually happens.
- shripadk 6y ago
  > As an Indian, I've heard countless plans like these every few years I agree the previous Governments never did act on their plans. I find a lot of difference between them and the current Government when it comes to desire, commitment and execution. Take Highways for instance. Rapid construction across the country. In 2014, when Modi came to power, it was 4260 km per year. In 2018, 10800 kms of highways were built. Almost 2.5x. In 2020 the Government has set a target of 60 km per day which is 21900 km which it is already on the path of achieving. One thing cannot be denied is that this Government is pushing all boundaries possible to get India on track. Yes it fails in some (demonetization) and wins in most but at least there is no policy paralysis like in the UPA era.
  - denzil_correa 6y ago
    > Yes it fails in some (demonetization) and wins in most but at least there is no policy paralysis like in the UPA era. This is OP's personal perception and opinion of the current and the former government.
    - kumarharsh 6y ago
      Aren't all of us here just writing our opinions unless backed by research articles?
    - wobbly_bush 6y ago
      Not OP, but those are well known facts. Quick Google search would show dozens of articles from multiple sources of media.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
yadavrohit 6y ago
It should have been done a long ago. Wasn't the first five years enough for the Modi govt. Undoubtedly, Modi has done a numerous good things, he failed to ensure a better internet connectivity. Had it not been Jio we would have been in a big trouble.
m3kw9 6y ago
I believe they can do it. The did something simular with toilets
mandeepj 6y ago
It's just a political rally shallow statement. Nothing else. Few years ago, there was a big hoopla about making India superpower by 2020. We all know where that is.
- 4silvertooth 6y ago
  Aim at the stars, atleast you will land on the moon. That's how current govt things goes.
Brajeshwar 6y ago
Wow! This is really good. Few days back my brother-in-law happily announced that Jio Fiber has reached their homes and that I can visit my home-town and stay longer without swearing about the Internet "availability". For context, I'm from Manipur[1], a pretty remote corner at the extreme north-east corner of India. Earlier, I was consulting with a friend who owns a part of an ISP there. I wanted to pull a fiber all the way home and setup station there I can replicate work (and school for the kids) and actually be able to work from there. Now, I've asked my brother-in-law to get any plan possible. When I go back there, I'm going to just carry a whole bunch of equipments to wire and wi-fi the whole home. The homes there are really massive and few stories, so this is going to be fun. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur
- kumarharsh 6y ago
  That's so heartening to hear! I had friends from Assam who were similarly disappointed by the broadband coverage there, and had planned doing something about it, but the problem was too hard to solve unless you had deep pockets. It's great to see Government doing it instead of leaving it up to private operators. Additionally, the recent announcement of laying Fiber cables to the Andaman and Nicobar islands is another good thing - I don't remember anybody talking any policy related points about the remote islands ever. Note: Andaman is far from Indian mainland (1200km) - about as far as New York is from Georgia, and it's closer to Myanmar (100km). It has a paltry population of only 300,000, spread across scores of islands.
thunderbong 6y ago
Most of the comments here are just opinions without any citations. Also, in many of the comments there seems to be a seamless conflation between business and government.
bobbydreamer 6y ago
Jio needs cables from one switching centre( https://simplanations.substack.com/p/9-what-makes-jio-different https://simplanations.substack.com/p/9-what-makes-jio-differ... ) to another. Govt being a team player in country's development takes care of that for Jio. It's simple as that.
ginthem 6y ago
Current government only wants more people to have internet, so that they can spread their toxic religious nationalist propoganda. Also spreading more misinformation. Mob lynchings are going to increase with all the WhatsApp news riling up the Go-Rakshaks (cow defenders). And more. All the misinformation and lies to help the goverment win another term.
- kcsomisetty 6y ago
  My sister learns 1 new dish from youtube every week. i think she missed the notice on lynching somebody. i will pass on the message. thank you.
- guiltygods 6y ago
  Yes. You missed the agenda when every village was connected had a phone and the Govt laid down infrastructure for it or when they erected TV towers across length and breadth of country in 80s.
john4534243 6y ago
Current Prime Minister Modi was in the ad of "Jio" company which was aired in national tv channels after he got elected. That company funds the BJP party to which Modi belong. By giving the money to "Jio", the money is being routed back to the party in the form of donations. By the way in India the party does not have legal obligation to show where the money comes from or how much. The BJP party is just a product of religious group called the RSS which wants the society to be based on strict vedic hindu religion. Vedas advocate the society to be 4 level hierarchy with priest's (Brahmins) at the top of the hierarchy and believe that education must be restricted only to the priest's for the good of the society. Not surprisingly majority of RSS members at the top level are Brahmins. India was a vedic society prior to the british colonization. This is the reason majority of the indians are 1st generation college graduates even though they were rich and owned a lot of land.

186 points by ra7 6y ago

That is very ambitious but i hope this can mean open access education can be delivered to the poorest of poor. Having 2-4 LED TVs with latest educational content directly streamed. The overworked teachers should become guides to the students.

4silvertooth 6y ago
India has dedicated satellites for distance education called EDUSAT.
- aitchnyu 6y ago
  I tried Googling about programs delivered by Edusat but got no luck.

acd 6y ago

I think fiber would be the best option for speed.

f311a 6y ago
I think it’s not about speed, it’s about distance that fiber can handle.
- tumblewit 6y ago
  That and the fact that the docsis networks here are so congested that it would make Internet quite unusable if strained (I use docsis and it’s a mess currently due to increased demand). I also think fiber has become cheap enough (the cabling) that the cost can be justified. Installing DSL and Docsis is not worth it given the high demand and future upgrades possible with fiber ...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
throw0101a 6y ago
No doubt, though I'm also curious about architecture. Most of these types of deployments tend to go with a GPON variant, with passive optical splitters: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_optical_network https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_optical_network However sometimes 'Active' (transitional?) Ethernet is used, which may cost more from a fibre perspective, but the gear at the end can then be traditional Ethernet which allows for taking advantage of economies of scale from the enterprise world: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_Infrastructure_Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_In... Have any details been released on what they're going to use? Anyone have experience with running PON that could comment on the pros/cons?
- ixfo 6y ago
  It will likely be point to point optical networking (Ethernet/OTN) on these links. Once you get to the last mile, PON (probably GPON for now; XGS-PON is starting to come down in cost now, but is still probably 2x GPON generally). Point to point kit is cheaper till you get to the customer-facing aggregation, at which point per-port cost of PON vs PtP is much more in PON's favour, and PON customer kit is very cheap from benefits of scale. PON on the other hand isn't good for long range links. Even amplified (which is £££, and not normally sensible) it has quite a low range compared to point to point at the higher split ratios that make the cost of kit per user so attractive.
  - throw0101a 6y ago
    > Point to point kit is cheaper till you get to the customer-facing aggregation, at which point per-port cost of PON vs PtP is much more in PON's favour, and PON customer kit is very cheap from benefits of scale. Is there a cross-over point when one becomes cheaper than the other? Total number of customers, customer per kilometre run, customer/population density, other? > PON on the other hand isn't good for long range links. There are certainly 'traditional' Ethernet AOM optics that can reach 40 and even 80 km (before getting into the long-haul stuff from the likes of Ciena), but given that most PONs seem to reach at least 20 km for not-outrageous splitter ratios (1:8 ~ 40km, 1:16 ~ 25-30km, 1:32 ~ 15-20km), how far does one actually need to go for most fibre runs? A recent video on Utopia Fibre has them using AON, and they claim it ended up generally being cheaper: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e9DNwInTE4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e9DNwInTE4 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_Infrastructure_Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_In...

setum 6y ago

While at it, they should also put up a pole every village (like electric pole) with high range WiFi router. This will remove the last 100m connectivity hurdle and everyone with a WiFi device can get a taste of high speed internet.

rayanimesh 6y ago
Disclaimer : I live in a village in Rajasthan. People will still the WiFi device and sell it for pennies. They don't spare road light in many parts of cities.
- p1esk 6y ago
  Would 5g service be a better solution?
  - nirav72 6y ago
    5g still needs backhaul infrastructure.
    - p1esk 6y ago
      Yes, we’re talking about the last mile
  - gpm 6y ago
    Everyone has wifi enabled hardware to use as a client, no one has 5g hardware, so no?
    - p1esk 6y ago
      In 1000 days everyone will have 5g service on their phones
      - gpm 6y ago
        Many people in first world countries will. Some people in first world countries and probably most in Indian villages don't even have 4g yet. So I doubt that in 1000 days they will have 5g when we are barely producing any devices today with that capability.

marchammknd 6y ago

Ok, but wouldn’t just providing clean drinking water for example be more critical for most of those families?

kcsomisetty 6y ago
I would say both are priorities, govt efforts can't be in sequential priority. what about villages that already have access to water, should they wait for other things until all villages catchup ? imagine access to youtube & vast knowledge, may be it will spur the commom folk to take matter into their own hands and improve their lives.
- NullPrefix 6y ago
  >what about villages that already have access to water, should they wait for other things until all villages catchup ? It would be more appropriate to broaden the scale and raise this question in relation to the whole world, not just the other villages.
- TedShiller 6y ago
  I would say providing clean water + food should always be prioritized over internet access
  - kcsomisetty 6y ago
    That's not how government priorities work. Should we cancel NASA budget because there were homeless people? Should we reduce public library budget because of people are suffering due to police brutality? Every section of government is different with its own budget and goals, because a nation can move forward on all fronts. Nobody is saying that providing clean water is not a priority. Provide fast internet is just a new priority on table. it does not necessarily mean reducing priority for other items.
flintmichigan 6y ago
I wish I had that too.

nix23 6y ago

Please India, if you're done with that, can you come to Germany?

koevet 6y ago
Was going to say something along this line. Is disheartening to live in a first world country (center of Berlin) that happens to have the strongest economy in the Euro zone, and have such a slow internet that I can't even watch Netflix after 8 Pm (and having to pay 50 euro/month)
- ChuckNorris89 6y ago
  laughs in gigabit fiber for 10 euro/month in Eastern Europe The reason why you're in this situation is that under Helmut Kohl, despite advice from experts to use fiber, the German government wired the whole country with copper instead because the ministry of infrastructure at the time had stocks in the copper business.[1] And also, in present times, German politicians still don't see the value the internet brings to a country so it was never a priority. Some even have employees print them pages off the internet so they can read them in paper form. For them, the backbone of German economy is IG Metall factories so they never understand how could one ever make money with the internet. As proof of this all one has to do is look at the DAX and see that none of the companies there bar SAP are software companies. I see this as a mentality problem in German leadership, as it's only two big fintech companies, Wirecard and N26, are bombing hard while competitors from Sweden and the UK like Klarna and Monzo are flourishing. And I'm sure the engineers in Germany are just as good as the ones in Sweden and the UK. [1]https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/deutschland-warum-unsere-handynetze-so-schlecht-sind-kolumne-a-1297362.html https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/deutschland-warum-unsere...
  - lioeters 6y ago
    > ..under Helmut Kohl, despite advice from experts to use fiber, the German government wired the whole country with copper instead because the ministry of infrastructure at the time had stocks in the copper business. Such abuse of public position ought to be a criminal offence - they profited at the cost of setting the country back a decade (or more!) in terms of modern infrastructure. Ubiquitous, fast, and maybe even free Internet - it seems logical and obvious that this is the ideal we should be moving towards, to benefit the whole country/world and future generations.

spellunkskunk 6y ago

Catering to domestic demand rather than to china's demands https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/china-extends-anti-dumping-tariff-indian-optical-fiber-72344654 https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/china-extends-an...

schemy 6y ago
India is going to overtake China in population by 2022, and the Indian population pyramid is lagging China's by 30-40 years. This is going to be a very interesting time when China overtakes the US in the nominal size of GDP, only to have India start doing what China did to the US before it even happens. We might be looking at the 30 Chinese years instead of the Chinese century.
blueblisters 6y ago
I am actually surprised that India has a big and competitive enough optical fiber industry that exports to China for China to raise punitive anti-dumping tariffs.
- manquer 6y ago
  Fibre is relatively low tech compared to Fabs and chip industry. Perhaps it is a function of raw material costs ? While compared to western standards Chinese labour remains cheap, it is expensive compared to East Asia and India who are poorer than China and have less purchasing power.

ramshanker 6y ago

As per article "1.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country have been connected with optical fiber". Each gram panchayats consists from 1 to 10 village. Average may be 4. So now we are talking about branching out the Gram-Panchayat connection to all villages under it's adminnistration. Totally doable. Of course there are still some remote villages/panchayats without Fiber. 2nd important point is monetization model, because these thing require maintenance. Private telecom players have mostly given up to participate in this Bharat-Net connectivity scheme. They seem to prefer their own Microwave backhaul for village cluster. That leaves National Telecom Operator BSNL which is not really in good financial shape. Still I believe this is doable.

onetimemanytime 6y ago

Have seen about 10 miles done in a day. How? By piggybacking on already lined 10Kv lines. About 1 meter under the lines put a galvanized steel bracket on each concrete pole and go. 3 people in one day laid 10 miles. If they had to put their own poles would have delayed but by a little. So it's doable and in countries like India, labor is virtually free and rules /permits are nonexistent so costs are low. Edit: India will become a superpower. It will not happen in a day or 1000 but with our (US) help they will, and will keep China in check.

xmprt 6y ago
Step 1 is to stop emigrating from India to the US the moment you get a chance. I'm guilty of it as are many of my friends but it doesn't help develop a country when their brightest minds don't have enough faith to stay.
- onetimemanytime 6y ago
  They will come back with lots of knowledge, money and connections.

puranjay 6y ago

As an Indian, I've heard countless plans like these every few years. I'll get excited when it actually happens.

shripadk 6y ago
> As an Indian, I've heard countless plans like these every few years I agree the previous Governments never did act on their plans. I find a lot of difference between them and the current Government when it comes to desire, commitment and execution. Take Highways for instance. Rapid construction across the country. In 2014, when Modi came to power, it was 4260 km per year. In 2018, 10800 kms of highways were built. Almost 2.5x. In 2020 the Government has set a target of 60 km per day which is 21900 km which it is already on the path of achieving. One thing cannot be denied is that this Government is pushing all boundaries possible to get India on track. Yes it fails in some (demonetization) and wins in most but at least there is no policy paralysis like in the UPA era.
- denzil_correa 6y ago
  > Yes it fails in some (demonetization) and wins in most but at least there is no policy paralysis like in the UPA era. This is OP's personal perception and opinion of the current and the former government.
  - kumarharsh 6y ago
    Aren't all of us here just writing our opinions unless backed by research articles?
  - wobbly_bush 6y ago
    Not OP, but those are well known facts. Quick Google search would show dozens of articles from multiple sources of media.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]

yadavrohit 6y ago

It should have been done a long ago. Wasn't the first five years enough for the Modi govt. Undoubtedly, Modi has done a numerous good things, he failed to ensure a better internet connectivity. Had it not been Jio we would have been in a big trouble.

m3kw9 6y ago

I believe they can do it. The did something simular with toilets

mandeepj 6y ago

It's just a political rally shallow statement. Nothing else. Few years ago, there was a big hoopla about making India superpower by 2020. We all know where that is.

4silvertooth 6y ago
Aim at the stars, atleast you will land on the moon. That's how current govt things goes.

Brajeshwar 6y ago

Wow! This is really good. Few days back my brother-in-law happily announced that Jio Fiber has reached their homes and that I can visit my home-town and stay longer without swearing about the Internet "availability". For context, I'm from Manipur[1], a pretty remote corner at the extreme north-east corner of India. Earlier, I was consulting with a friend who owns a part of an ISP there. I wanted to pull a fiber all the way home and setup station there I can replicate work (and school for the kids) and actually be able to work from there. Now, I've asked my brother-in-law to get any plan possible. When I go back there, I'm going to just carry a whole bunch of equipments to wire and wi-fi the whole home. The homes there are really massive and few stories, so this is going to be fun. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur

kumarharsh 6y ago
That's so heartening to hear! I had friends from Assam who were similarly disappointed by the broadband coverage there, and had planned doing something about it, but the problem was too hard to solve unless you had deep pockets. It's great to see Government doing it instead of leaving it up to private operators. Additionally, the recent announcement of laying Fiber cables to the Andaman and Nicobar islands is another good thing - I don't remember anybody talking any policy related points about the remote islands ever. Note: Andaman is far from Indian mainland (1200km) - about as far as New York is from Georgia, and it's closer to Myanmar (100km). It has a paltry population of only 300,000, spread across scores of islands.

thunderbong 6y ago

Most of the comments here are just opinions without any citations. Also, in many of the comments there seems to be a seamless conflation between business and government.

bobbydreamer 6y ago

Jio needs cables from one switching centre( https://simplanations.substack.com/p/9-what-makes-jio-different https://simplanations.substack.com/p/9-what-makes-jio-differ... ) to another. Govt being a team player in country's development takes care of that for Jio. It's simple as that.

ginthem 6y ago

Current government only wants more people to have internet, so that they can spread their toxic religious nationalist propoganda. Also spreading more misinformation. Mob lynchings are going to increase with all the WhatsApp news riling up the Go-Rakshaks (cow defenders). And more. All the misinformation and lies to help the goverment win another term.

kcsomisetty 6y ago
My sister learns 1 new dish from youtube every week. i think she missed the notice on lynching somebody. i will pass on the message. thank you.
guiltygods 6y ago
Yes. You missed the agenda when every village was connected had a phone and the Govt laid down infrastructure for it or when they erected TV towers across length and breadth of country in 80s.

john4534243 6y ago

Current Prime Minister Modi was in the ad of "Jio" company which was aired in national tv channels after he got elected. That company funds the BJP party to which Modi belong. By giving the money to "Jio", the money is being routed back to the party in the form of donations. By the way in India the party does not have legal obligation to show where the money comes from or how much. The BJP party is just a product of religious group called the RSS which wants the society to be based on strict vedic hindu religion. Vedas advocate the society to be 4 level hierarchy with priest's (Brahmins) at the top of the hierarchy and believe that education must be restricted only to the priest's for the good of the society. Not surprisingly majority of RSS members at the top level are Brahmins. India was a vedic society prior to the british colonization. This is the reason majority of the indians are 1st generation college graduates even though they were rich and owned a lot of land.