Motu seemed frustrated. “Unt ke muh me jira”, he muttered as Chotu walked in to the room. What’s so insufficient, Motu bhai? he enquired.

Internet speeds, Chotu dost ! I was booking something online and this connection is moving like a snail!

Ah, Motumoshai, I can see that your broadband connection is very poor in terms of speed. Get a faster one.

I’m booking my JioGigaFiber right away. It’s all over the news.

Faster internet speeds is always a great thing Motuji. I can say with conviction that this is one of the major hindrances in India’s journey to become an economic super power.

Acha , but what exactly is the link between growth and broadband, dear Chotu?

There is a direct link, as many studies have pointed out. Improved access to ICT (information and communication technologies) helps countries deploy digital solutions easier and faster, and the people can reap benefits of the so-called digital revolution without much delay.

That’s interesting. Are there any examples, Chotu?

Yes, Motuji. Sometime back, Ofcom, which is the TRAI of the UK, commissioned a study which found that investments in broadband infrastructure directly benefited the economy of many countries. The researchers analysed data for 35 OECD countries over 15 years (2002-2016) and found broadband investment and economic growth shared a direct link. They recorded GDP increase of 0.3 per cent per annum on average across the 35 countries. This is no mean feat. So it makes sense in investing in broadband, fibrenet and the like.

So, JioGigaFiber is a going to be a changemaker, right?

That’s debatable, Motu. Granted, the company’s offer for cheap and fast broadband is a great idea which can disrupt the market for good. But the brouhaha around high-speeds should not take the focus away from the idea of digital inclusiveness, which means we must also make sure all Indians should have access to broadband, including those in remote villages, else we will end up creating the Great Indian Broadband Divide.

Ah! I didn’t think of this at all, Chotu.

If you’ve noticed Motuji, most of the broadband action is happening in the metros today. ACT Fibernet, a relatively small player in comparison with Reliance Jio, which introduced the so-called Gigabyte speeds (1000 mbps) in Bengaluru earlier and now in Chennai, also focusses on metros and it is anybody’s guess how long these companies will take to reach the poor and needy in villages. So our ICT growth is quite uneven.

But there is BSNL broadband!

Yes, there is. But to be frank anecdotal experience shows the government-run company’s infrastructure capabilities in terms of deploying high-speed broadband (above 50 mbps) is not that great. And considering the infrastructure that has to be built to make high-speed broadband a reality for all Indians, BSNL will have to really sweat it out to get ahead of the curve. What looks sensible to me, Motuji, is for the government to incentivise private players to do business in such critical areas while empowering the state internet service provider to offer better services.

I really wish we do the right thing here, Chotu!

You bet. Last February, web-speed checker Ookla ranked India 67th globally in fixed broadband and 109 for mobile internet speeds. This shows we have a long way to go. The UN’s ‘Measuring the Information Society Report 2017’ shows the current wave of Internet of Things, big data analytics, cloud computing and artificial intelligence will improve livelihoods. So, like you Motuji, I also hope we leapfrog on the broadband front and we do it as inclusively as we can!

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