Pruthvi: A 'Made-in-India' chip uses TV white space to connect rural India to Internet

Saankhya Labs has designed a postal stamp-sized chip, called Pruthvi, aimed at connecting India’s rural population to the Internet. The chip, which has been designed in Bangalore, powers a system which can use television White Space — or wasted spectrum bandwidth — to beam Internet to scores of households, reported  Economic Times. The Bangalore-based semiconductor firm Saankhya joins the likes of Microsoft, Facebook, and Google by aiming to take the Internet to rural India. [caption id=“attachment_1250129” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image: Reuters[/caption] “World over regulatory authorities are using or planning to use this spectrum for their respective connectivity programmes. India can take the lead in both technology and the markets for TV White Space-based broadband delivery. And how long can the government not push the envelope… It’s got to be expedited sooner than later,” Economic Times quoted Saankhya Labs CEO Parag Naik as saying. Saankhya, which was founded in 2007, has developed a system called Meghdoot, powered by its Pruthvi chip, which can use the existing TV White Space bandwidth available in India to provide wireless broadband to remote areas. Unlike Wi-Fi, which has a range of only about 100 metres, the 200-300 MHz spectrum in the white space can reach up to 10 km. This spectrum currently belongs to the government-owned Doordarshan TV channel and is not used at all. Saankhya is not the only one to utilize the white space and take the initiatives of digitalizing India to the next level, but the software giant is already working in the process of deploying its White-Space technology – White-Fi – to connect rural Indians to the Internet. Microsoft is already working with the Andhra Pradesh government to implement the technology on a pilot basis in the Srikakulam district. Saankhya, in collaboration with IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi and IIT-Hyderabad, is expected to conduct field trials of its technology soon. Also, the company is also in discussions with Microsoft to do trials at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. The low-cost-internet-to-rural-Indians initiatives seem to have come right in time when PM Narendra Modi has announced his Digital India project. The project that would cost $1.2 billion aims to connect 250,000 gram panchayats in order to make Internet connectivity accessible to every part of the country. The project has garnered the interest of several tech giants, including Facebook and Google, who have shown their willingness to offer support to make it a reality.