Setting up a wired communication network is expensive and demands considerable amount of time.

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TRAI estimate indicates that a rural fiber infrastructure to connect 3,75,552 villages, for example, requires
an investment of roughly INR 32,295 crore. Therefore operators are hesitant to invest in villages and re-
mote areas.
Additionally, the Government's investment in the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) to cover projects
including automation of land records, tax, driving licences, pass-ports and common service centres; the
Unique Identification (UID) project and other c-governance projects such as e-Passport, National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) and treasury management initiatives will help drive demand
for broadband and promote inclusive growth in rural and semi-urban India
Mobile broadband
Mobile broadband has started gaining traction in India. The introduction of 3G and reduced calling costs
are expected to drive mobile broadband in the country and increase the demand for broadband
availability. Advanced technologies such as 4G are expected to enhance subscriber interaction with the
network because people can access Internet services, such as online television, blogging, social
networking, and interactive gaming, easily, on-the-go. This is expected to further drive demand for mobile
broadband ser-vices.
However, industry and government need to address underlying issues of concern that prevent the rollout
of a fixed-line network. From a pricing perspective, broadband users have to pay for access platforms
(e.g., PCs/laptops and mobile devices) and a monthly Internet subscription. Although subscription
charges in India are among the lowest globally, they are the outcome of price competition in a currently
irrational market (where competition forces operators to sell broadband access at or below actual cost).
This poses a significant hindrance to future market growth be-cause sustainable growth requires bringing
prices to a more sustain-able level while simultaneously reducing operating costs. Operators (telecom
and cable) must work to ensure ubiquitous supply by understanding the strengths and competitive
positions of various broadband technologies and their applicability across different segments.
The government needs to pro-vide more civic services online, establish a policy at the national/local
levels to streamline access and advance the rollout of the fixed network infrastructure besides
encouraging digitization of the cable industry. As a first step to push for in-creased broadband
penetration, the Indian Government hopes to provide all 2,50,000 village panchayats with broadband by
2012 through the 'Bharat Nirman' programme. As of January 2011, 97,548 village panchayats have been
covered.
According to the draft of the National Telecom Policy, the Government will provide 'broadband on
demand' by 2015 and achieves tar-get of 175 million broadband users by 2017 and 600 million by 2020.
The draft policy proposes to revise the existing broadband down-load speed of 256 kbps 10 512 kbps and
subsequently to 2 Mbps by 2015 with higher speeds of at least 100 Mbps thereafter. Part of the policy is
also to increase rural teledensity from 35 per cent 10 60 per cent by 2017 and to 100 per cent by 2020.
The Government spending on e-governance projects and SWAN initiatives is likely to drive the growth of
the networking market further. Going forward, advanced wireless technologies like WiMax, 3G and 4G are
expected to pace up the broadband growth in India. Wireless for last-mile connectivity in rural India and
growth in broadband penetration will drive market growth and eventually help India transition to a fully
networked economy.