For those in the dark, there’s an ambitious program in India called Digital India, and it is designed to bring technology to lakh villages throughout the country. In light of this, Microsoft has stepped up to the plate and has chosen to take low-cost broadband to five lakh villages across India.
Microsoft made the announcement while speaking at a dinner in India, which was host to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the software giant says it wants to make things happen. According to CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft plans to partner with the Indian government to bring low-cost broadband to over 500,000 residents in lakh villages.
We’re not sure of the speeds villagers should expect to gain from an inexpensive broadband initiative, but it is better than no Internet at all. Furthermore, this move is also an aim to push Microsoft cloud services such as OneDrive and Office Online to more potential users.
“We believe that lost-cost broadband connectivity coupled with the scale of cloud computing intelligence that can be harnessed from data can help drive creativity, efficiency, and productivity across governments and businesses of all sizes,” the first Indian-American Microsoft CEO said.
This is also expected to bring forth a system where Microsoft cloud services will be delivered to citizens from data centers within India. Such a move would be a major milestone for Microsoft and for the country.
Nadella did not state when we should expect to see these plans put into place, but we’re guessing it shouldn’t take too long. The software company would be wise enough to get its low-cost broadband system up and running in lakh villages across the country before it is bested by another.
