Unwired Cities, Zoom Ahead. But are we on track?
India is growing and so is technology here. People are becoming techno savvy and are on the tech one way or the other. So now we have the so much hyped concept of Unwired Cities.In 2006, Bangalore and Pune declared they would offer city-wide broadband access-on-the-move to their citizens through a public-private partnership model.
They planned to have a large wireless zone in their municipalities, using a technology standard called wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, and serve as models for other aspiring cities.
Three years later, not only have Bangalore and Pune given up on their plans, but no other city in the country is thinking of unwiring itself; partly discouraged by the failure of the two municipal corporations and partly due to the non-viability of the business itself. So the question arises, that are we on track? Are we actually letting technology take India ahead? The reality is that this concept had fallen flat in not only India but many countries world wide. The private model of wi-fi developement has been more successful with airports, coffee centers all getting wified. Despite the concept of unwired cities falling through, the Wi-Fi market is growing in India, largely driven by demand from the corporate sector, hospitality and travel industries in particular.
A study conducted by Tonse Telecom, a telecom analyst firm in Bangalore, for the global trade body Wi-Fi Alliance, estimates India’s market for wireless broadband to grow to $1 billion (around Rs4,934 crore) by 2012. In 2008, Tonse had estimated the market to expand to $890 million during the same period.
So this has led to a new concept where in small wifi locations with increasing numbers are letting the connectivity grow but the born concept of unwired cities has fallen flat on its head. Therefore the advancement would continue at faster pace although the implementation would change hands and name. Issues will come up when wifi zones would be defined but one way or the other customer would benefit.
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