The Hindu Business Line : Lakshadweep logs on to Net

Since the number of users is low, the bandwidth is adequate to meet the requirements, which includes educational purposes, a telemedicine project and PORTNET, an e-governance project that interconnects all port offices in the islands.

Recently in Kavaratti

As he offers a cup of black tea, Mr C.M. Ahmed is apologetic. "Sorry, I can't give you milk. It's not easy to get milk here," says the Director of Department of Information Technology, Lakshadweep.

Because for most of the essential day-to-day stuff like milk, the scattered islands of Lakshadweep depend on Kochi, Kozhikode or Mangalore - the mainland.

Lakshadweep is used to living on shortages and limited supplies.

But when it comes to bandwidth, Mr Ahmed doesn't have to skimp much, at least for the time being. Each of the 10 islands of Lakshadweep has two Mbps bandwidth available through VSATs.

Since the number of users is low, this bandwidth is adequate to meet the requirements, which includes educational purposes, a telemedicine project and PORTNET, an e-governance project that interconnects all port offices in the islands.

Taste of technology

"These days my staff comes a bit early to office so that they can log on and read the day's newspapers," Mr Ahmed says. In the past, they had to wait for days to get the newspapers from mainland.

Like other parts of India, Lakshadweep islands too have had a taste of digital technology. A couple of cyber cafes have appeared. Digital studios are offering instant photos. "Earlier you had to wait for weeks to get the films developed from mainland," says Karim, a taxi driver.

Four islands - Kavaratti, Amini, Andrott and Minicoy - have a telemedicine project of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), connecting them to the Amrita super-speciality hospital in Kochi. Thirteen schools have access to the Edusat project of ISRO.

Mr Ahmed says that inventory management and accounting software are being used in various Government offices in the islands. Soon, the IT Department will set up community Internet centres in all the islands to train the youth in basic computer skills. Each centre will have 10 computers, a printer and a scanner.

Mobile phone boom

Like elsewhere in the country, mobile phones have exploded in Lakshadweep. Everywhere you see youngsters flaunting mobile phones, often the latest models. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the only operator in the islands, launched the services in June 2003 in Kavaratti and subsequently in other islands.

Currently, Lakshadweep, which has a population of around 65,000, has over 10,000 mobile phones, overtaking landline phones that came to the islands in 1971.

Networking challenges

Mr Ahmed says networking is a big issue within the islands since the BSNL data line is available only in Kavaratti. All other islands have to rely on VSATs for their connectivity needs.

A proposal to set up a state Wide Area Network in Lakshadweep is now pending before the Government. Also, BSNL sources say that a study has been conducted to assess the feasibility of an under-sea cable to the islands that will solve the connectivity issue. It is learnt that the project would cost at least Rs 600 crore.

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