[Assam] Boradband in Guwahati

[Krishnendu Chakraborty]

In that case,  price will come down -- the way lack of landline phone has made way for Cell Phones.  I thought in many places they use Cable line for  internet.     And cable is more pervasive then Phone line in India.
 
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In India it is out of necessity as it is still very hard (almost impossible?) for inside areas to get a land line in India. For example, even at Parijat Academy, even though it's just a few kms away from Guwahati, they have to depend on a wireless connection for internet. Hence the Tata Photon+ (or something similar) is the only way that they can communicate with the world.  

 


 








 


 

> Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 11:01:33 -0700
> From: krish_gau at yahoo.com
> To: assam at assamnet.org
> Subject: [Assam] Broadband in Guwahati
> 
> I am yet to see "essential items"  priced at per with dollar.   By "essential items"  I would not think big ticket luxury items.
> Having said that,  it is no denying that price of goods in comaprision to earning is high in India.  
> However,  this also shows that a large number of Indians have risen  from lower middle class to upper middle class  which is a good sign.  
>  
> I would attribute most of India's problems to population density -- the simple demand and supply.
>  
> Thsi include housing (a major issue in bigger cities) , traffic etc.
>  
> Hwoever,  IMO  Public Transport system in India (at least parts of India) is far better and affordable  (in Indian terms, I would clarify) then what is available in Major US cities.   Here ,  I would compare the MBTA (Public Transport of Boston ) to that in Mumbai  and Mumbai definitely is much superior in terms of both punctuality and  safety .    
> Mumbai trains run ever 4- 5 minutes  in 3 different routes (and a number of sub-routes) and are very punctual .  Also there have not been any  major collission in ages.    Comparing that to Boston public transport having frequently delayed trains,  at least 3 collissions in last 2 years, and regular cancellations , Mumbai stands far superior.
> True,  there are cases where people fall off the train,  one has to travel like a pack of sardins but all these have nothing to do with operation of the Public Transport.
> The same goes for the BEST bus service .  
>  
> Public transport is very affordable in other parts of India too though it might  lack in punctuality  and safety .  
>  
> Education -- The Right to Education law got implemented from yesterday.   This is a right move and I am hopeful this will bring improvement.   
>  
> All in all,  India is progressing -- at a fast rate. 
>  
> Coming back to the original topic --  the price of wireless boradband   will surely come down.  It is just a matter of time.  And I really do not understand why a School Teacher or a Grocer or a Farmer (be it in India or US) need a wireless broadband.  Wireless broadband is mostly for people who are constantly on wheels (like sales folks)  for rest,  wired broadband is good enough.
>  
> *********************************************************
> On Apr 1, 2010, at 3:01 PM, Krishnendu Chakraborty wrote:
> 
> > There are couple of fallacies here --
> >
> > First is to equate $2000 to Rs 2000  or $15  to Rs15.    That is  
> > simply not true  .
> 
> 
> 
> *** I wouldn't argue that. Obviously I was oversimplifying. But it  
> does have parallels, in many instances.
> Compared to what an average man earns in the USA  vs. one in India,  
> many items of essential goods
> and services, particularly in the most affluent Indian metros, would  
> place the rupee at par with the dollar.
> 
> It is in that context I cited the cost of wireless internet ( not cell- 
> phone service) as highly unaffordable
> to the average iNdian. I agree cell phone service has indeed become  
> not only widely available, of reasonable
> quality and affordable to the average man on the street.
> 
> Now if one can say the same thing of housing, a decent education,  
> medical care, food, transportation and so forth,
> then one can rightfully claim that the life of an average Indian has  
> indeed improved demonstrably to an acceptable
> level, considering its human and  other resources.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > There are number of other parameters.  For example,  a successful  
> > architect  might be  earning $200K  per year in US  but the same  
> > architect will make Rs20,00,000 pa  in India. The figures are random  
> > but the bottomline is  $1=Rs1 equation does not work.
> >
> > Second,  wireless communication does not mean  wireless internet  
> > alone.  That is a very new creature.   Wireless communication  
> > largely is Cell Phone Services  and yes,  a Daily wage earner can  
> > and do afford to have a Cell Phone in India.  In India, the plumber  
> > who works in your house,  the maid,  the chaiwalla everybody has a  
> > cell phone.  I will not be surprised if the beggars of some posh  
> > locations have cell phones.
> >
> > Any new technology is expensive -- everywhere.  think about the Core  
> > 2 duo laptop with windows Vista and 4 GB RAM which you purchased  2  
> > years back for over a thousand USD ... you will get that for less  
> > then half the price today.