The WhiteSpace Alliance (WSA) said it is working with the Government of India to bring cost-effective broadband services to its citizens. In a recent series of meetings with telecommunications regulatory and Ministry officials, WSA promoted the use of available TV band channels (white spaces) to provide widespread broadband connectivity to support the nation’s Digital India initiative.
WSA believes these unused TV Band channels can serve as fixed wireless access spectrum for middle- and last-mile connectivity to villages as well as many small and medium enterprises. This infrastructure could also support a wide range of e-Payment, e-Governance and e-Services applications.
Under the nation’s current program, BharatNet, India’s National Fiber Optic Network, is expected to provide a high speed backbone network to a central point within a cluster of villages known as Gram Panchayats. While last mile connectivity within individual villages could be supported by a variety of access methods such as Wi-Fi and/or LTE, the mechanisms to deploy cost-effective middle-mile connectivity between these network levels have not yet been specified.
The powerful propagation characteristics of TV band spectrum make white space solutions ideal for providing such middle mile connectivity to rural and remote areas. Wired infrastructure is not cost effective to deploy in these situations, and vegetation makes line-of-sight wireless solutions unreliable. In addition, white space devices are easy to install, require relatively little power, and are reliable in difficult environmental conditions, minimizing ongoing implementation costs.
Indian government is also working to bring free Wi-Fi internet access to 1,050 villages across the country in the next six months under another initiative, called Digital Village.
Dr Apurva N. Mody, Chaiman of WhiteSpace Alliance
Utilizing TV band spectrum can help make a digitally-empowered India a reality. Technical standards are in place, products are available and similar policy frameworks have already been implemented in other countries. With appropriate policies in place, the vision of Digital India can move forward rapidly, and even traditional wireless operators can have a play.
Hemant Mallapur, Founder of WSA member Saankhya Labs
White space technologies overcome many cost barriers associated with large scale broadband deployments. Better propagation means that signals travel longer distances, antennas can be deployed at rooftop height instead of on large towers, and network configurations don’t require line-of-sight.
