Data use doubled in rural India amid lockdown, says govt access to the internet facilitator
Data consumption in rural India jumped practically 100 per cent within per month - especially since the lockdown began, a high official of the government-run access to the internet facilitator CSC SPV said on Sunday.
Common Services Centres, a Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC SPV) of the government, over the years setup access points for the delivery of various digital services, also called e-Governance services, in rural areas.
CSC SPV recorded an increase in data consumption to 4.7 terabyte (TB) as on March 30 from 2.7 TB on March 10, a near 100 per cent increase.
“Besides the surge of data consumption in rural areas, there's been a high demand of FTTH (Fiber to Home) internet connectivity,” CSC SPV CEO Dinesh Tyagi told PTI. “Since March 20, a lot more than 3 lakh subscribers registered for FTTH across 50,000 gram panchayats.”
CSC has also create Wi-Fi hotspots in around 25,000 gram panchayats named CSC Wi-Fi Choupal services.
Wi-Fi Choupal has a lot more than 12 lakh registered subscribers who utilize it as a supplement to their mobile web connection, CSC data showed.
“This clearly indicates the high appetite for internet data in rural areas, which in future can be pivotal in bridging the digital divide. If nurtured with regular organic feed of educational and informational content, rural India can be digitally empowered and transformed," Tyagi said.
India has more than 60 crore internet surfers, 29 crore of which are in rural areas.
The federal government has strived to supply broadband facilities to every rural household in India through a project called BharatNet. It has roped in the CSC SPV, an organisation beneath the Ministry of Electronics and IT, to operate, manage and support BharatNet at the panchayat level.
Until now, more than one lakh panchayats have already been enabled to supply broadband services beneath the BharatNet project.
