Broadband in India: PC & the Society

By Sujai Karampuri, Guest Author

As I discussed in the previous post, the drivers for penetration of broadband in India will be-

* Decreasing cost per line
* Decreasing operating expense
* Decreasing cost of PC (or similar device)
* Social attitudes and habits embracing broadband facilities
* More Indian content

In this post, I will analyze the decreasing cost of PC and the social attitudes barriers.

Decreasing cost of PC (or similar device)

PC (or a device similar to that) is already becoming cheaper. With projects like one laptop per person, and other initiatives, the cost of PC is going to be less than Rs. 5000 by 2009. Other concepts like Novatium, if they tend to be aggressive, can also make a marginal impact on the penetration of broadband. Companies like Intel and Microsoft (or will it be Linux?) will need to come up with exclusive strategy for catering to this revolution (and I am sure they will).

Social attitudes and habits embracing broadband facilities

Every school in India is going to have a PC and also an internet connection. Those kids who never knew PCs will now be used to using them at these schools. These kids in turn will make way for their families owning a PC and therefore an internet connection. All government employees are now moving towards using PCs and broadband connectivity. Those people who have never known PC or a broadband connectivity are now moving towards embracing these technologies. No family wants to be left behind when it come to his/her finishing up his/her homework using Internet at home. Some of these social changes and habits will increase the penetration of broadband.

[Sramana: We hope, anyway! Somewhere in the next 5 years, an inflection point will occur, that will drive the broader society squarely in the midst of the broadband revolution.]

This segment is a part in the series : Broadband in India