Our technology more
effective for last-mile connectivity: Microsoft India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik
NEW DELHI: Microsoft
India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik has taken a pot shot at rivals Google and
Facebook over their proposals to tackle the country's last-mile broadband
connectivity problem, and said the technology that the software giant is
offering is potentially more effective to take high-speed Internet to remote
villages.
India has become the
latest battleground for the three US majors, as they aim for the telecom
department's contract to provide last-mile connectivity as part the over Rs
20,000 crore national broadband project. Google is experimenting with a network
of helium balloons to relay signals to places that are hard to reach for
traditional networks, while Facebook is considering using drones. Microsoft's
technology, called TV White-Space, uses unused spectrum in frequencies used by
TV channels to carry data.
"I can't imagine
a drone hovering over the Earth for long periods of time and a balloon not
drifting away, while here you can use solar power, an antenna that is used
for simple TV broadcast and a device or router which is powered by solar which
can provide the connectivity," Pramanik told ET.
The local unit of the
Redmond, Washington-based company has sought a licence from the telecom
department to deploy a working example of the technology in Bangalore as proof
of concept.
Facebook declined to
comment, while Google did not reply to an email seeking comment.
Google's Project Loon
aims to provide "inexpensive" Internet access across India through a
network of helium-filled solar-powered balloons placed in the stratosphere at
an altitude of about 32 km. Pilot projects are underway in New Zealand,
California and Brazil.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has previously played down the effectiveness of Google's balloons, saying they have a shorter life than drones and can't survive the rigour of weather patterns. "This means drones have more endurance than balloons, while also being able to have their location precisely controlled," he had said in a white paper on drones earlier this year.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has previously played down the effectiveness of Google's balloons, saying they have a shorter life than drones and can't survive the rigour of weather patterns. "This means drones have more endurance than balloons, while also being able to have their location precisely controlled," he had said in a white paper on drones earlier this year.
Facebook's
Connectivity Lab is developing massive, yet light, solar powered drones which
will be able to fly for years at a time and serve as large connectivity hubs,
the division's engineering director Yael Maguire had said. The first of these
drones may well be deployed in India, ET reported earlier this month.
"So there are
many choices we have as a nation - we can use 2G, 3G or 4G, we can talk about
balloons or drones. But my belief is that this is one other technology which
can be used," Pramanik said.
Microsoft is not
talking about running a network, but more about creating a technology meant for
emerging markets, he said. "We'd like government, nations and telecom
companies to use it."
The radio interface
developed by Microsoft functions like Wi-Fi router on a bigger scale. It
provides wireless connectivity across a 10 km radius with speeds of up to 16
Mbps, a much larger area and speeds than the typical routers set up for
commercial use today.
Using White-Fi and
dynamic spectrum, there is possibility of extending the network coverage by 10
kms from each of the 250,000 touch points and then connect another router and
extend it by another 10 kms, effectively blanketing the country, Pramanik
added.
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