Intel Facilitates The 'Connected Indians' Industry Effort

Intel India has announced the launch of an industry-wide movement called the ‘Connected Indians’ where government, industry associations and private enterprises have come together for the common cause of connecting a billion Indians. The movement is intended to mobilise people, resources and infrastructure to connect citizens to information, ideas, people, capital and services leading to overall development and future success.

R Sivakumar, MD, Sales & Marketing, Intel South Asia, said, “Intel recognises that the Internet is capable of transforming lives and the future of our country. At the same time, we also recognise that there is an urgent need for the industry and government to collaborate to enable people to connect to the Internet. Through the ‘Connected Indians’ movement, we hope to achieve precisely that. This movement is privileged to be supported by the government, ecosystem partners as well as numerous other industry stalwarts. This coupled with the slew of affordable computing devices now available will go a long way in driving connectivity. We expect to see the momentum for this initiative building up rapidly.”

Thiru A Raja, union minister of Communications and Information Technology, said, “The Internet has the ability to act as the force that can propel India into the next decade. The ‘Connected Indians’ movement will spur effective broadband deployment, which in turn will directly contribute to the country’s competitiveness. This rapid technological change will ensure India’s future success. I congratulate Intel for having facilitated the unique ‘Connected Indians’ movement with significant contribution from key industry partners and support from the government.”

Intel – BSNL MoU

BSNL has committed its efforts to accelerate broadband Internet in India to help bridge the digital divide. To this end, Intel and BSNL have announced a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which will jointly propagate broadband Internet across the country along with wireless solutions such as WiMAX to enable inclusive economic growth in India.

Intel and BSNL will work together to evolve a set of basic standards for building WiMax rollout and applications in India and develop a pilot WiMax solution specifically for rural markets. Intel will provide help to set up a proof-of-concept lab for Wimax and other wireless broadband technologies and include BSNL in any certification/verification programmes.