Bangalore Unwired

Bangalore, India's infotech capital, was a key contender in the race for the
world's first Wi-Fi city in 2006. However, having lost out to Taipei, Taiwan,
the city now eyes to become the country's first complete unwired city.

The state government has started a pilot study and is waiting for the Cabinet
approval to kick off the project. After prolonged delays, it looks like
Bangalore is finally set to bid adieu to wires on par with cities like Milpitas,
Palo Alto and Taipei in terms of last-mile Internet access. This would mean that
one could browse the Internet while driving on the roads.

The pilot project, 'Unwired Bangalore', will cover the entire stretch of MG
Road-from Trinity Circle up to the MG Road, Kasturba Road junction.

Speaking about the project, MN Vidyashankar, IT and BT Secretary, Govt of
Karnataka said, “Unwired Bangalore is an 18-month project where WiMax is
conjunct with Wi-Fi mesh technology. It will be implemen­ted to cover 743sq km
to provide the largest wireless infras­tructure in the country today. We are
only waiting for the Cabinet to approve the Letter of Intent.”

“About 70 percent of Bangalore is already equipped with fixed base stations
and, for a start, a stretch of 3.5km in the city center will be WiMaxed as part
of the pilot project to provide wireless connec­tivity to the net,” said
Vidyashankar, adding that 500m on either side would be covered of the 15km
stretch through Kasturba Road, MG Road, Mayo Hall and Bridge Road.

The Software Techno­logy Parks of India (STPI), Bangalore is implementing the
project along with the state IT department and an undisclosed private player.
The final WiMax project, which is likely to be extended to the rest of the city,
will amount to about Rs 450 crore.

Meanwhile, according to industry experts, service providers Aircel and
Microsense are setting up WiMax towers for this pilot project. Each tower will
have a cell radius of four to five kilometers, compared to Wi-Fi's limited range
of a few meters.

The vision of unwired Bangalore will enable citizens to enjoy broadband in
their homes, offices, schools and public areas-whether this is for personal,
business or public service usage. Instead of being tied to offices, homes or
individual hotpots, people will have fast convenient access to information-and
each other-from virtually any corner of the city. Users can connect wirelessly
and roam seamlessly to access applications and services anywhere, anytime.

“The pilot run will be done primarily to demon­strate how WiMax works. The
wireless connectivity will be seamless for the pilot project, as at every 55m we
have installed a base station. We have to cover 743m of area under Bangalore
Mahanagar Palika (BMP). It is, in fact, double the size of what Taipei has
set-up.”

Reacting to reports that Pune has already beaten Bangalore as India's first
Wi-Fi city, Vidyashankar added, “It is only a hype. One should personally visit
Pune to know the reality. None of the other cities are in contention for the
race.”

Pune claims to be the first city in the country where a commercial meshed
Wi-Fi and WiMax deployment under the 'Unwired Pune' project took place.
According to experts, Intel Technology, along with the Pune Municipal
Corporation (PMC) and Microsense, are jointly executing the project.

Manu Sharma

manus@cybermedia.co.in