Pabal joins the Internet revolution

The World Wide Web has come to a small village in Maharashtra. With Internet
connections being provided to an area of 2,000 sq km through the Wireless Local
Loop Technology (WLL), Pabal, a small village located 70 km from Pune in
Maharashtra, is all set to join the Internet revolution.

Efforts are underway in the village to provide Internet connections to an
area of 2,000 sq km through the Wireless Local Loop Technology (WLLT). The
technology was developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, and is
marketed by N-Logue.

The prime mover behind the project is SS Kalbag who set up the Rural
Development Through Educational System (RDES) in Pabal to provide technical
skills to the rural youth. The idea is to make the Internet as popular and
accessible as the cable TV network, which has reached the remotest corners of
the country because of the absence of any monopoly, the presence of hundreds of
small operators, and the fact that it is a lucrative business opportunity.

A 20-metre-high tower is being constructed at the five-acre Vigyan Ashram, in
Pabal. The pilot phase of the project, which will be completed by March end,
will enable Internet connections over an area of 1,000 sq km. The second phase
of the project will see the construction of a 45-metre-high tower, and another
tower 20 metres high. Although this area is covered by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd
(VSNL), an Indian ISP, Kalbag has chosen the WLLT as VSNL's clogged lines make
it impossible for the village to log on to the net. The telephone service
providers are not very interested in providing telephone lines in rural areas
because of the costs involved. The cost of laying new lines would be roughly
around Rs 35,000 for a single connection.

Plans are on to take a leased line from the Pabal telephone exchange. A
round-the-clock Internet connection will probably be provided through Satyam
Online, an ISP provider. The Vigyan Ashram will be the conduit for the
potentially large number of local subscribers who will get their connections
through the Local Area Network. Even if 500 subscribers to use the Internet for
an hour, for Rs 20, the project will be able to break even. Kalbag is also
organising PowerPoint presentations at melas (village gatherings) to educate the
villagers of Pabal about the Internet and its various applications. His melas
address a wide audience from industrial units and professionals such as teachers
and doctors to farmers.

Enterprising farmers are being encouraged to set up kiosks all over the
service area. This is expected to be possible at an investment of Rs 50,000.
Kalbag has already received responses to his plan. The kiosks, will charge Rs 20
per hour; kiosk owners could earn a little extra money by charging a nominal sum
for e-mail services. They could also offer value-added services like updating
farmers on market prices and offering the use of webcams.

Nanda Kasabe

CNS