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Rural India goes wireless

A new wireless broadband network has been launched in rural India.

Marguerite Reardon Former senior reporter
Marguerite Reardon started as a CNET News reporter in 2004, covering cellphone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate and the consolidation of the phone companies.
Marguerite Reardon

Rural India has entered the broadband revolution. Yesterday, Akshaya, a rural community in India launched a wireless broadband network that will serve geographic regions that otherwise couldn't even get access to traditional telephone lines or cellular service.

Wireless supporters have long talked about how the technology could be used to link the most remote regions of the world together. Thanks to technology advancements and falling prices on networking gear, building a network like this in a sparsely populated region has become economically feasible. As a result, areas like Akshaya can finally get access to phone and high speed Internet services.

Even though it will be a long time before local residents in these regions actually have PCs in their homes, the wheels have been set in motion. It won't be long before teenagers in tiny villages all over India stay up all night playing interactive games with kids in California. Now that's progress!