The Telangana Government, which is trying to make Hyderabad a Wi-Fi enabled city, is in the process of acquiring ‘White-Fi’ technology, a new technology that intelligently uses all the unused spectrum allotted for broadcasting of television signals.
In technology parlance, these unused spectrum spaces are called White Space that is exciting the IT companies, Governments and other technology solution providers to provide Internet connectivity to people in hinterlands.
Top IT companies such as Microsoft and Google have been doing research on this technology that can significantly enhance the scope of Wi-Fi coverage.
Telangana IT Minister K Taraka Rama Rao has said that the Government is in talks with operators to utilise the unutilised to spectrum to shore up the bandwidth required to offer Wi-Fi in the State Capital. “We will use the traditional method to offer Wi-Fi and also deploy the latest technology ‘White-Fi’ to implement the scheme,” he said, while talking about the roll-out plan here at a meeting to mark 100 days of formation of new the Government.
The State will call for tenders from telecom operators to provide Wi-Fi in the city by the month-end. “We will ask them to come with RFPs (Request for Proposals),” the Minister said.
“The beauty of this technology is that you don’t need to buy any additional spectrum to provide Wi-Fi. It uses all the bandwidth lying idle. It can dramatically solve the bandwidth problems of countries like India,” Ramesh Loganathan, President of Hyderabad Software Exporters’ Association, said.
Recognising the potential, Microsoft is doing pilots in countries like Kenya to provide affordable communication solutions to the people.