1. Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics
Vol. 36, June 2007, pp. 188-191
Rural connectivity in India: The n-Logue example
Sangamitra Ramachander
TeNet Group, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai 600 036, India
Received 27 September 2006; accepted 27 February 2007
This paper mainly aims to explain about the telecom boom in India and throws light on the technologies of today and
tomorrow. It briefly discusses about, how technologies are now starting to be available to connect every village and also it
details challenges faced by the technologies in rural areas. With these in mind a total innovative business model was
required to deliver Internet services to rural areas. In order to meet this need a company called n-Logue was incubated to
significantly enhance the quality of life of every rural Indian by setting up a network of wirelessly connected internet kiosks
in villages throughout India. The challenges from technology point of view are many. The systems that provide connectivity
need to be relatively inexpensive if they are to be commercially deployed, given the lower incomes in rural areas compared
to urban areas. This paper concludes by saying that with the help of drastic developments in technology sector, providing
connectivity in rural areas is entirely possible today.
Keywords: Rural connectivity, Teledensity, ICT, n-Logue communication
PACS No.: 84.40.ua
1 Introduction
Every communication revolution has significantly
changed our operating paradigm, socially and
economically; engendering possibilities in our lives
that we could not have earlier imagined. The printing
press, radio, telephony, television, and more recently
the internet, have each allowed us to communicate with
distant geographies at increasingly faster speeds. As a
result, they have dramatically altered our perceptions of
distance, time and our own place in the world. The
most recent revolution is the internet, which has
assumed a nearly indispensable place in the lives of
many in urban and developed parts of the world today.
The use of modern communications – especially
telephony and the internet – in remote and rural areas,
however, lags far behind in most parts of the world.
This is more especially so in developing countries.
In India, the teledensity is just over 9%, but rural
teledensity is less than 1.5% against an urban
teledensity of 20.7% as of 2004. Less than 2% of the
population has access to the internet and access in rural
areas is virtually absent. The poor rural scenario for
telephone and internet access is especially alarming in
the Indian context, given that over 70% of the
country’s population lives in these areas. Paradoxically,
the benefits that telephony and the Internet can bring to
these areas are arguably far greater than in urban areas,
given the extent of deprivation that exists in these
regions in both social and economic spheres.
2 Benefits to rural areas
The utility of access to telephones and the internet
in rural areas cannot be over-emphasized. By bridging
distances, telephony and the internet, which fall under
a broader category known as Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs), allow people
living in remote areas unprecedented access to
resources and opportunities. Online services in the
areas of health, education and e-Government
significantly impact the quality of life in rural areas.
In the health arena, remote diagnostics can prove
extremely useful where medical facilities are poor or
absent. In the field of education, distance learning can
be used to supplement the locally available school and
college education, or to provide certification from
well-known academic institutions located in cities.
These can enhance the skills and employability of the
rural population. E-Government services can provide
an opportunity for the rural populations to interface
easily with government officials and access important
government documents without having to physically
travel to distant locations.
Agriculture and veterinary services can also be
provided through online consultation with experts in
the cities. In agriculture, the provision of online price
information can be very useful in helping farmers
decide where to sell their produce. Several future
services are also possible such as in the area of
Options and Futures, which would benefit farmers by

2. RAMACHANDER: RURAL CONNECTIVITY IN INDIA
mitigating price and market risks. The internet can
also act as a medium to outsource work and provide
training, thereby improving the workforce in rural
areas and curbing the trend of rural-urban migration.
E-commerce is also an important avenue through
which a wider range of goods and services can reach
the rural population.
In a larger sense, governments across the world and
international organizations such as the United Nations
are also beginning to recognize the potent role that
ICTs can play in bringing about equitable socioeconomic development and “bridging the digital
divide”. By giving people of all strata of society the
ability to choose their own course of action based on
direct access to information regarding resources and
opportunities, ICTs create empowerment. It is only
the wealthier urban class in developing countries that
enjoys this today, and the asymmetry of information
access results in a form of intellectual imperialism,
which creates a deeply dualistic society.
Empowerment of rural communities therefore,
through providing access to information, is the
essence of democratic development, and providing
telephony and internet services is the first step.
3 The challenges in rural areas
While the potential benefits that ICT can bring to
rural areas are many, there are certain unique
challenges in providing connectivity to these regions
in a manner that is financially sustainable.
3.1 Technologies for rural connectivity
The challenges from a technology point of view are
many. The systems that provide connectivity need to
be relatively inexpensive if they are to be
commercially deployed, given the lower incomes in
rural areas compared to urban areas. Most households
have incomes below Rs. 3000 per month (Rs. 600 per
capita per month). As a result the spread of telephones
in rural areas is barely 3 telephones per km2, despite a
higher population density compared to other parts of
the world. Another challenge is that the systems must
be sufficiently robust in order to withstand the harsher
physical environments that often characterize rural
areas. They must also be capable of functioning
without certain basic supporting infrastructure such as
regular power supply, for example.
Fortunately, India has certain technology
advantages with regard to providing rural
connectivity. Over the past 15 years, the Department
of Telecommunications, the Government of India and
189
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the stateowned
incumbent,
have
made
significant
contributions toward connecting rural India, by laying
fibres to almost all taluka (county) headquarters and
towns. Today, many of the private Telecom Operators
(Reliance, Tata, Bharati) and organisations such as
Railtel have also laid fibres to connect these towns.
Nearly 85% of Indian villages are situated within a
15-20 km radius of taluka towns and therefore a
wireless system with a radius of coverage of about
20 km deployed at these towns would be able to
connect a majority of the villages in the country. A
wireless-in-local-loop system, corDECT, is one of the
most cost-effective solutions in this regard, developed
by the TeNeT Group at IIT-Madras in India, in
collaboration with a Chennai-based company, Midas
Communication Technologies Private Ltd. Its features
are also ideally suited for rural use.
With a radio exchange and base station located at a
taluka town, corDECT enables simultaneous
telephone and internet connectivity in villages within
a 25 km radius using a fixed wireless LOS (line of
sight) system and relay base stations. While the
original corDECT provided connectivity at 35/70
kbps, the enhanced broadband corDECT provides
connectivity at 256 kbps. A 1000-line radio exchange
and base station functions at an ambient temperature
of even 55 ºC without air conditioning, and has a total
power requirement of only about 1 kW, which can
easily be provided by a small diesel or petrol
generator. CorDECT also comes with range extenders
that extend the range of its base stations.
The total deployed cost including that of the
subscriber unit is under Rs. 10,000 per line and the
start-up cost for the system, at which the first
subscriber can be connected, is Rs. 1 million. In India,
infrastructure for over 2.5 million corDECT lines has
been deployed by all major telecommunication service
operators. India’s major Telco, BSNL, has reached
nearly half-a-million homes with corDECT. The
product has also been deployed successfully in ten
other countries such as Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, Brazil,
Tunisia, Iran, Togo, and the Democratic Republic of
Congo. Deployments are being planned in many CIS
countries and other nations of Eastern Europe.
With the available fiber network and significant
strides in technological innovation, providing rural
connectivity is a reality today. However, in order for it
to be provided on a large scale, such technology must
be deployed using an appropriate business model.

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INDIAN J RADIO & SPACE PHYS, JUNE 2007
3.2 Business models for rural connectivity
An innovative business model is required to deliver
internet services to rural areas. Commercial delivery
is essential in the long run, since funded models drain
financial resources and are neither scalable nor
sustainable. However, since the urban market is now
well understood and profits can be made within a
reasonable period of time, there is little incentive for
businesses to focus efforts in the rural market. The
latter has not been explored and therefore poses
greater effort and risk. Therefore an organization
dedicated to providing rural connectivity alone is
needed, which would be willing to invest in
understanding the market thoroughly. A private
company, n-Logue Communications Pvt. Ltd. was
formed in order to meet this need. The company was
incubated by the Telecommunications and Computer
Networks (TeNeT) Group at the Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras with a mission “to significantly
enhance the quality of life of every rural Indian” by
setting up a network of wirelessly connected internet
kiosks in villages throughout India. The n-Logue uses
a for-profit business model and the corDECT
technology forms the backbone of its network.
The n-Logue’s three-tier franchise business model
consists of the company at the top, Local Services
Providers (LSPs) in the middle and the Kiosk Owners
(KOs) in the lowest tier. Inspired by the STD-PCO
and Cable TV examples, the model involves creating
local entrepreneurs who will own the kiosks and drive
the business at the village-level. The role of the LSP
in this model is to set-up the technology infrastructure
in a particular region jointly with n-Logue, in order to
provide last-mile connectivity and also to provide
support to the kiosk operators within the area.
The company helps the KO set-up a kiosk by
providing her or him with the necessary hardware,
which consists of a Multimedia PC, a UPS with
battery, a digital camera, printer, and the corDECT
wallset with related accessories. The total cost of this
equipment and a marketing kit, local language
software, training and an internet connection for the
first six months of operation is approximately
Rs. 50,000. However, to start the business, the KO
need only come up with Rs.10,000 as n-Logue helps
the KO secure loans through banks for the remaining
amount.
Once the kiosk is in operation, the KO can access a
host of services developed by n-Logue. These include
computer education, adult literacy programs,
agriculture-related services, health services and
e-Government services. Many of these services make
use of iSee, a low bandwidth videoconferencing
software that allows villagers to communicate with
various experts remotely. Other online services
include entertainment (games, music and movies) and
astrology. In addition, the KO may offer any number
of services that he or she develops independently, or
with other partners, at the kiosk.
3.3 Appropriate and affordable ICT-based services
The value of ICT infrastructure is derived from its
ability to deliver services that are valuable to the local
population. If priced appropriately, such ICT-based
services can find a large rural market. Significant
potential exists in several domains – agriculture,
health, e-Government, education, outsourcing of
work, and financial services – but services in each of
these areas have met with a varying degree of success.
In this section each service has been ranked on a scale
of 1 to 5 on the basis of its success within the n-Logue
kiosk network. The ranks have been accorded on the
basis of the demonstrated earnings to the kiosk
operator so far and feedback from customers.
In the area of education, a good amount has been
understood regarding the computer education services
for the rural market, and these have been refined over
time and provide a steady revenue stream to the kiosk.
Other educational services include an ‘Online Tutorial’
that focuses on helping students of high-school pass
their 10th and 12th grade examinations. Wherever this
service has been launched, the impact on students’
performance has been extremely impressive, with high
pass percentages and absolute scores on examinations.
Spoken English is another service that is popular
among women in particular. Newer services that have
been developed are in the areas of Computer Graphics,
Typing, etc. and also show promising results. Overall
services in the area of education are assigned a ranking
of 3+ on a scale of 5 and these are believed to have a
very large potential in rural areas.
In the health arena, the tele-medicine kit – which
allows patients to transmit vital parameters such as
blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature and ECG
online to doctors located elsewhere – has been piloted
in a few areas but has shown only limited results,
despite the fact that many villages do not have access
to a well-qualified doctor or hospital facilities. People
do not have confidence in a system of remote
consultation and diagnosis. Moreover, physical access
to pharmacies post-diagnosis remains a problem.

4. RAMACHANDER: RURAL CONNECTIVITY IN INDIA
Video-conferencing has been successful in the area of
eye-care to some extent, where patients are
subsequently referred to a city hospital for a detailed
check-up if required. Overall this service has been
accorded a rank of 2+.
In agriculture, n-Logue partners with experts at the
Tamil Nadu Agricultural College and Research
Institute to provide advice on farming methods and
solutions to crop and animal diseases, via
videoconferencing. Through the kiosk, farmers can
also access various agricultural portals to find weather
information, crop prices, and improved farming
techniques. Other agricultural services offered
through the kiosks are the sales of tractors and spare
parts, in partnership with farm equipment
manufacturing companies. In areas where livestock
rearing is common, kiosks provide online veterinary
advice. Potential future agricultural services planned
by the company include facilities for soil testing at the
kiosk, online farming “schools”, an early warning
system for disease outbreaks, and long-term
predictions on crop prices, demand, and rainfall.
Given the size of the agricultural sector in the
country, the level of outreach in these services has
been extremely limited and much more remains to be
done. Therefore as per the current status it has been
given a rank of 2–.
In the area of e-Government, kiosks provide access
to government portals that contain online forms and
applications for birth and death certificates, etc. In the
southern state of Karnataka, the kiosk network has
partnered with the government’s Bhoomi database,
allowing access to land records. The n-Logue has also
organized videoconferencing sessions between village
kiosks and local government officials. By providing a
means to bypass government bureaucracy, such
services have a huge demand but have not seen
commensurate results. Proper implementation
together with the government is the key to making
this a success. This service is ranked 1+.
Considerable efforts are being made to outsource
work to rural areas in the IT-enabled services field
and early results are promising. This service is ranked
2+ today. Similarly, the use of ICT to train rural
women in the area of crafts and outsource work from
urban areas has a tremendous potential and based on
current achievements this service is ranked 2+.
191
Overall, the most popular services in the kiosks
today are internet browsing and email, computer
games and education. Students also come to the
kiosk to check exam results and this is a big revenue
earner at many kiosks, although seasonal. Desk-Top
Publishing and Photography are also among the
popular services. E-government, astrology and
matrimonial services are much less used and in the
areas of online trading and financial services
(banking and credit) very little have been done so
far. The low cost rural ATM shows considerable
promise but is yet to be deployed and used on a
large-scale.
While the problems of the past pertained to
technology and devising an appropriate business model,
today much has been learnt in both of these areas. The
main challenge today is to develop services that are
successful and that will generate healthy revenues for
the kiosk owner, thereby making the business
sustainable. In terms of the ranking used in this section,
the aim is for all of the services to reach 4+.
4 Conclusions
With
technological
innovation,
providing
connectivity in rural areas is entirely possible today.
The efforts of organizations such as n-Logue
Communications have also ensured that ICT
infrastructure exists in several villages across the
country. There is considerable scope to utilize this
infrastructure, in order to provide internet-based
solutions in several fields, which were unthinkable in
the earlier paradigm, given the remoteness of these
areas. By using the internet as means to transcend
barriers of distance, the hope is to provide services
that will help to catapult the pace of socio-economic
development in these regions of the world.
References
1 Jhunjhunwala Ashok & Ramachander Sangamitra, n-Logue:
A Business Model for Rural Connectivity, in edited book
Empowering Rural India through ICTs, Vol. 4 in the IIIT-A
book series on e-Governance, March 2006.
2 Jhunjhunwala
Ashok
&
Ramachander
Sangamitra,
Commentary: The Role of Wireless Technologies in Connecting
Rural India, Indian J Radio & Space Phys, 34 (2005) 363.
3 Jhunjhunwala Ashok & Ramachander Sangamitra, Rural
Connectivity in India, CSI Communications, August 2005.
4 www.tenet.res.in
5 www.n-logue.com