Based on the Cordect Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) developed by the Institute, an Internet and telephone kiosk could be set up in a village with a meagre investment of Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 and the cost per line could be brought down further from the current Rs 18,000.

The infrastructure for the network was being provided by N-Logue, the company incubated by the Institute. Prof Ashok Jhunjunwala, the man behind the development of the technology and head of the Tenet Group of IIT Chennai told newmen here that the pilot project taken up at Kuppam, the constitutency of Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, had been successful.

It was being set up in other parts of the country with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and other private operators showing the initiative. The project was also taken up in Nellikuppam and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu and Sikar and Dhar in Rajasthan.

In Sikar, as many as 1500 villages would be provided with kiosks with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development providing the necessary loan to local service providers and the entire network had been franchised to Shyam Telelink, the private operator...

Prof Jhunjunwala said negotiations were also on to set up 1600 links in schools in Durg district of Chattisgarh. Negotiations were on with the local service providers with telephone franchisees being either BSNL or Bharati. Prof Jhunjunwala said the access network would be provided to all parts of
the country, other than the top 150 cities, where connectivity was already available.