Headlines
India's ICT usage lags behind Sri Lanka, Bhutan
India's ICT (information and communications technology) usage and access
on a global scale has been ranked at 129 out of 166 countries while
both Bhutan and Sri Lanka ranked ahead of India at 123 and 116
respectively, telecom regulator TRAI said on Friday.
Further, as
per the regulator, with a global rank of 125 for fixed broadband
penetration, India has scored below Bhutan and Sri Lanka with only 1.2
per 100 citizens having access to fixed broadband
"India is
categorised in the least connected countries group of 42 nations that
fall within the low IDI (ICT Development Index) group."
The score of India, however, is better when it came to the wireless broadband segment.
"In the wireless broadband space... India is ranked 113 with a penetration of 3.2 per 100 inhabitants," the regulator said.
It
said unavailability of adequate bandwidth, red-tapism in implementation
of the National Optical Fibre Network project, issues with civic
authorities and Right of Way charges among others as de-accelerating ICT
adoption in India.
It also highlighted the prices of ICT-enabling devices like computers, laptops and tabs as a deterrent.
The
telecom regulator proposed to hasten the various licence-clearance
processes and revamp the national telecom regulatory structure besides
managing the spectrum adequately to better adopt broadband in India.
It
also recommended cable operators to be allowed to function as resellers
of ISP (Internet Service Protocol) licence holders to spread internet
usage.