Chip to bring internet to rural areas | Fusion - WeRIndia

A unique solution has been formed by an Indian organization in order to help increase internet connectivity and also bring it to rural parts of the country. A chip which is the size of a postal stamp has been created and it looks it can change the face of India’s rural internet. The chip called Pruthvi has been developed by the Bangalore-based semiconductor firm, Saankhya Lab. These chips are used to power up a system called Meghdoot that can use television White Space to transmit internet to many homes.

White Space is the underutilised portion of the radio frequency spectrum. CNET has stated in a report that networks often leave a buffer between channels for the sake of safety. As a result, there are large areas of the spectrum which are wasted or unused. These unused spectrums are usually in the 470 MHz to 790 MHz band. They are allocated for television broadcasting.

These spaces are at a lower frequency which means they have a longer wavelength. As a result, these signals have a longer range. Using these, fairly low-speed Internet access over a wide area can be provided.

Saankhya Labs was founded in 2007. The founders are Parag Naik, Hemant Mallapur and Vishwakumara Kayargadde. They made Pruthvi to allow Meghdoot to connect to a user-side modem which helps translate the white space signals to internet bands which are used by smartphones, tablets and computers.

Using the technology, they can provide internet for up to a radius of 10-15 km depending on the height of the antenna tower and transmission power. With modification, the range can also be increased.

Fields trials all over the country are about to be carried out by Saankhya labs in collaboration with IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi and IIT-Hyderabad. In order to conduct trials at Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, talks are being held with Microsoft.

Image Reference: TheBetterIndia