Danish co Bluetown offers low-cost, local internet to hinterland

Denmark-based firm Bluetown plans to offer wi-fi solutions in India, especially in rural areas, under which one can access specific internet content without an active data connection.

This will be extremely critical in areas where network connectivity is low. The company works through 5L -- low cost (works on free band of 2.5 Ghz), low power (only 20 watts of power required), low maintenance, local cloud and local content.

"The local cloud will keep users connected to local content, even if the internet connection is interrupted," Satya Gupta, country managing director, Bluetown India, told DNA Money.

"Since we use local cloud, the content gets saved locally. It is part of BTS and put in a box in the tower. There can be pre-loaded local government content which can be accessed besides the cached content which gets saved while accessing the internet. Also, the content keeps updating automatically when the internet connection is on," he said.

However, this comes at an extra cost of Rs 50,000 or the state government/telecom firm/content owner can pay lease charges.

The company has got a contract from BSNL for installing 15,000 wi-fi hotspots in Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar with an investment of $80 million over a period of 3-5 years.

Bluetown is in discussions with many state governments and entities for installing their solutions as there is a shift towards moving to a digital society. Under the Digital India initiative, the government plans to deliver many services through an online medium.

According to him, about 70% of India's population, equivalent to 857 million people, lives in rural/remote areas. And as per estimates, about 500 million users are yet to be connected by internet.

"Our solution is designed to work in even the most rural parts of the world, powered 100% by solar energy and comes with rechargeable batteries as a backup for 24/7 performance. Also, users can charge their mobile devices at a specially designed charging station and extra features such as a streetlight and webcam can easily be added. The base station is delivered as a turnkey installation. It connects to the internet by existing infrastructure via fibre or microwave link, satellites, drones or balloons," he said. The company has already installed such solutions in Africa and Latin America.

Once the system is installed, users are up and running within minutes. Multiple base stations can be set up in a mesh of access points and the masts connect via a microwave link designed to operate at a distance of up to 20 kilometres. This makes it easy to cover a larger area or connect several villages starting from the same internet connection, he said.

WI-FI HOTSPOTS

• Bluetown has got a contract from BSNL for installing 15,000 wi-fi hotspots in Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar with an investment of $80 million over a period of 3-5 years
   
• The company is in discussions with many state governments and entities for installing their solutions as there is a shift towards moving to a digital society