Ericsson pioneers WCDMA/HSPA ecosystem pilot in rural India

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has launched the Gramjyoti Rural Broadband Project, an initiative to introduce benefits of WCDMA/HSPA technology in rural India and connect communities to high-speed internet services for the first time.

The trial project was launched in early September and will showcase the benefits of a host of mobile broadband applications across 18 villages and 15 towns close to Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu.

By creating a stable ecosystem based on leading WCDMA/HSPA technology, Ericsson will provide these communities with high-speed internet so they can access a range of new services including: telemedicine; e-education; e-governance; online local information; voice and video call services; and live TV and entertainment.

The initiative seeks to demonstrate how WCDMA/HSPA technology can be a major catalyst for social and economic empowerment in this developing region, helping to bridge the digital divide and increase productivity and quality of life.

Based on leading global technologies such as HSPA, the trial project was launched in early September. Rural Communities are the beneficiaries of the initiative. Community centres with PCs and mobiles, Mobile ambulances connected using HSPA are extending government services and tele-medicine benefits to rural communities. As part of the project, more than 3000 students at three high schools in these communities will have high-speed internet access and receive e-learning courses.

Mats Granryd, Managing Director of Ericsson India, says: “Ericsson aims to help India’s rural population get first-hand experience of broadband applications. This pioneering project will provide communities with access to meaningful broadband services for the first time. Building an efficient and affordable WCDMA/HSPA rural broadband can help serve as a blueprint for the widespread introduction of internet and broadband connectivity in the future.”

“We are delighted that India’s Department of Telecommunications has given its support for this initiative, and we look forward to close collaboration with our partners to further extend the applications and help bring communications to all,” Granryd says.

P Balaji, Vice President of Marketing & Strategy, Ericsson India, says: “We chose this location because, it reflects the typical telecom profile in rural communities that have limited or no access to fixed telephones, but are seeing the benefits of voice communication over a mobile network. This project will demonstrate the power of 3G by building an efficient and affordable rural broadband network and ecosystem. ”

The Gramjyoti Project is supported by partners including Apollo Hospitals, Hand In Hand, Edurite, One97, CNN and Cartoon Network.

Read more about the Gramjyoti Rural Broadband Project at http://www.gramjyoti.in/index_eng.htm

Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

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About Ericsson’s HSPA solution

Ericsson’s HSPA solution is a part of Ericsson’s Full Service Broadband offering and enables already today download speeds of up to 14.4Mbps and upload speeds of 1.4Mbps. The advanced technology lets operators more than double their system capacity and cuts response times for interactive services. On average, users will be able to download 20 times faster than with a GSM/GPRS connection. Future evolution steps will increase the HSPA download speed to 42Mbps and the upload speed to 12Mbps. Ericsson offers HSPA support on many frequency bands ranging from 850MHz to 2.6GHz.

What the Gramjyoti Partners have to say!

Name: Ms Kalpana

Designation: CEO

Organisation: Hand-In-Hand

“Villagers can come to our Community Centres and download forms for birth and death registration, ration cards, land lease deeds and many other things and we help them submit the same to the District Collectorate.”

Name: Mr Srikanth

Designation: CEO

Organisation: Edurite

“Our content for e-learning is through the Audio-Visual medium and consists of modules that students can access through the high-speed broadband network that Gramjyoti provides.”

Name: Prof K. Ganapathy

Designation: President

Organisation: Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation

“Gramjyoti enables transmission of critical patient data through the HSPA network to a doctor sitting at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. Timely medical diagnosis and emergency help for those in rural areas will be key benefits.”

Name: Mr Vijay Shekhar

Designation: CEO

Organisation: One97

“On the internet, farmers can now view information on local weather, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and local market rates for their crop produce.”

Name: Mr. Siddharth Jain

Designation: Vice President – Business Operations & Distribution. India and South Asia

Organisation: Turner International India Pvt Ltd

“We are really excited to partner with Ericsson for this revolutionary internet and broadband initiative. With this landmark association, Turner becomes the first international broadcaster to offer its news and entertainment channels on hand-held devices using digital video broadcast in India. Gramjyoti subscribers will now have access to global news with CNNI as well as keep entertained by watching Cartoon Network on their phones.”