Assorted articles and Information

In an effort to boost bilateral ties, India and Iran have inked an MoU for cooperation in the field of railways and start work on the India-Iran-Russia railway line. The agreement apart from initiating the work on the proposed rail line involving India, Iran and Russia will also promote a joint effort to increase cooperation with International Union of Railways.

Iran also sought India’s partnership and cooperation for a new track which will connect the Free Trade Zone of south eastern Chabahar and the city of Fahrej situated in central part of the country, Tehran Times said, adding the agreement will incorporate investment plans for the track. Iran is also keen to cooperate with Indian Railways in its port connectivity plan and will accept the offer after examining the financial viability of the proposed projects in Iran, it said.

The MoU was signed by Indian Railway Board Chairman K C Jena and Hassan Ziari, the managing director of Iran’s Railway Company on 13th April, 2008. The agreement also deals with issues of technical training of the personnel, railroad signaling projects, supplying locomotives and spare parts, as well as setting up a joint working group between the two countries.

A study by the Global Wi-Fi Alliance has predicted that the Wi-Fi market in India will grow to $891million in four years. The adoption of Wi-Fi, which enables people to access the Internet without cables, would ride piggyback on the infrastructure and retail boom in the country, according to the study. Around 95 per cent of the laptops being sold in India at present are Wi-Fi enabled. The study also notes a steady increase in the sales of mobile handsets with Wi-Fi capability. This is another factor which would increase Wi-Fi adoption.

Other factors that will ignite Wi-Fi in India include large-scale developments of hotspots by corporates, telcos and PSUs. For instance, the Indian Railways recently announced that all important rail-routes between metros would be made Wi-Fi-enabled together with 50 railway stations (20 of which to be completed by March, 2008). Tata Communications, which has already rolled out rolled out 350 plus public hotspot locations is set to increase the chain to about 1,000 this year in 2008. Similarly, BSNL is setting up 100,000 Community Service Centres which will be carrying a powerful info kiosk that has Internet connectivity, plans to make a significant number of these Wi-Fi enabled.

While new technology solutions (PON, WiMAX, ADSL) will continue to address growing demand for broadband in India, Wi-Fi will continue to play a strong role in sub-tending the last mile to multiple end-points - slashing costs, improving inventory management in organized retail, enabling faster check-ins at airport counters, medical services in rural India, creating jobs in a rural BPOs, spreading education in hinterlands of India and enriching quality of life for many, the Wi-Fi Alliance study adds.

The study forecasts that by 2011-2012, the market for Wi-Fi networking gear and services (excluding laptops, handsets, and chipsets) in India will top $891 million, marking a 36 per cent compound annual growth rate from 2008. With real estate development exceeding 30 per cent annual growth, deployment of Wi-Fi networks in new residential, retail and corporate construction is cited as a key opportunity for Wi-Fi device manufacturers and service providers. The report profiles the work of a non-profit organization, Byrraju Foundation, which leverages Wi-Fi technology to connect rural farmers to experts in agriculture, remote patients to doctors, and young villagers to training and employment opportunities.