THE PRIEST

The Union Cabinet recently approved a scheme for creation of a National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) for providing Broadband connectivity to Panchayats. The objective of the scheme is to extend the existing optical fiber network which is available up to district / block HQ’s level to the Gram Panchayat level initially by utilizing the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). The cost of this initial phase of the NOFN scheme is likely to be about Rs.20,000 crore. A similar amount of investment is likely to be made by the private sector complementing the NOFN infrastructure while providing services to individual users. In economic terms, the benefits from the scheme are expected through additional employment, e-education, e-health, e-agriculture etc. and reduction in migration of rural population to urban areas. As per a study conducted by the World Bank, with every 10% increase in broadband penetration, there is an increase in GDP growth by 1.4%. NOFN will also facilitate implemen...

WiMAX Technology is one of the emerging wireless technology that provide us high speed mobile data and telecommunication services. WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access and it is based on IEEE 802.16 standards.. Wimax Technology works same as Wi-Fi does but it is more improved and efficient then WiFi and it can route data to Wi-Fi that is Wi-Fi devices can take advantage of WiMAX connection. WiMAX technology providess higher speed connection up to 70 Mbps over the area of 30 miles. There is no need for line of sight connection between subscriber terminals and the base station in WiMAX technology and it can support hundreds if not thousands of subscribers from a single base station. It is also specified in 802.16 standards that it will supports low latency applications such as voice, video, and Internet access at the same time. The bandwidth and range of WiMAX make it suitable for the following potential applications: Providing portable mobile broadband...