India could get free 2Mbps broadband internet by 2009
Entire cities getting free WiFi used to be quite the sensation, but now the
real hotness is in connecting up an entire nation. According to IndiaTimes, the
government is proposing that all citizens of India receive complimentary 2Mbps
internet by 2009, and the service would be provided by the state-owned BSNL
and MTNL. Officials backing the plan are hoping that giving all residents access
to high-speed internet would “boost economic activity” as the citywide free WiFi
implementations apparently have in America. The nations department of telecom
will purportedly be laying “an extensive optic cable network across the country,
permitting the resale of bandwidth, setting up web hosting facilities within the
country, and asking all internet service providers to connect to the National
Internet Exchange of India.” Unsurprisingly, this issue has created very polarized
camps, as consumers cheer on the idea, current telecom providers are shaking at
the mere thought of all future telephone calls being converted into free VoIP dialogue .
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