Rolling Out Broadband Internet, On The Cheap

Mathamota writes "The goverment controlled telephone company in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta), India is providing a Internet access service called DIAS (Direct Internet Access System) which provides 24 hour connection at 128kbps (when the phone is being used, it drops to 64). However, the best part is that the cost of Plan I (which has a data transfer limit of 500 megs) is only Rs 825 ($ 16.50) per month, all inclusive. The technology used in this stuff is quite interesting, and there is a whitepaper available at the site of the company which developed the system." At first glance, it sounds just like plain old ISDN; but after reading the white paper, it's a bit different. Cool idea.

Comments

This is not very Cheap for most Indians

[fozzy(pro)]

The cost of this is not inexpensive if you consider what most indians make at a yearly level. Not to mention the cost of the phone or computer. It's a step in the right direction.

Cheers to the government

Highlights issues w/ US ISPs

[drgroove]

This article really serves to highlight issues w/ US-based ISPs and the services they offer.

What are the options for a US citizen to get online right now?

1. Pay AOL || MSN || Earthlink $20> / mo. for dialup
2. Pay local Cable or Telephony Monopoly $50> / mo. for "broadband"

US ISP have some serious issues w/ their services - essentially, theres price fixing in both dialup and DSL/Cable options, which the FCC and the FTC are ignoring; despite continuous adoption of broadband, prices have yet to drop in the slightest - in fact, broadband providers regularly announce additional restrictions on bandwidth, personal site/email hosting, file upload/download, P2P file sharing, etc.

It just seems like for all of our technological advantages, the US should have the highest rate of households w/ broadband, at the lowest prices, in comparison to any other nation. Instead, you have telephony companies in India providing their customers with affordable broadband, and nations like South Korea with the highest levels per capita of broadband usage.

If you can't outcompete 3rd world workers...

[siskbc]

...you deserve your spot in the unemployment line.

Nice idea - maintain the low standard of living in India so undereducated, soft, lazy Americans can maintain their high standard of living.

It's amazing how people can believe in equal rights until it's they that have to give something up to a more talented but previously repressed foreign worker.

My advice? Start writing better code or further your education if you don't want your job given to someone willing to do a better job than you. And don't give me this outsourcing sob story - if your job can be done capably by someone who has virtually no contact with management, halfway around the world, then you're not doing a good job. If you are a good, educated programmer, you have nothing to worry about. If you have the ability to lead and manage projects, you have nothing to worry about. If not, then you're screwed, and you have no one to blame but yourself.