The technical superiority of fiber over other media for data transmission is unquestionable. However, installing fiber is almost certainly the prerogative of organisations that can wield substantial money power, aside from the technical aspects (which aren’t really all that different in complexity from almost any other technology, no matter how commonplace those may seem today).

Using broadband, though, is a mindset issue, involving as it does on the one hand devices, accounts, payments and so on to get started, some of these not being part of everyone’s daily lives, and on the other hand, its capabilities, spreading across e-information, e-learning, e-payments, e-governance, e-tc., and perhaps something we will recognise one day as e-living.

My point is that it is a little unrealistic to expect people who have never experienced some or all of these things to take to them like a duck to water. Fiber deployment is managed through centralised organisations, and this is a different mindset, usually exclusive of local involvement. Further provisions of services will naturally (organically) tend towards more centralisation and exclusivity. I think this will partly slow down adoption, and partly skew it towards elite sections of society, which is already seen in the cities.

An alternative approach will aim towards organising local people to get involved, building local networks, interconnecting them, using the IXs wisely (with audited and frequently reviewed policies), decentralising their deployment locally as traffic builds, and similar measures.

This may not look as neat on paper or deliver results as initially quick as the PPP model (public-private-partnership, not the other well-known acronym), nor is the task of identifying and nurturing local (self-help or corporatised, both) groups simple. However, it will change the landscape from the present, largely absentee, landlord dominated model, and encourage the growth of the local economy. That could possibly lead to a more meaningful outcome.

@Parvez, thanks for responding to so many questions – in addition to the interview. It is refreshing to have someone who is part of a semi-government organization respond so clearly instead of evading the issues.