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Ernet hopes to rope in global giants to develop content

Ernet India Executive Director Gulshan Rai says the talks with these global companies were begun when Ernet decide to work closely with the private sector while developing content for its countrywide computer network which hooks together several universities and R&D institutes.

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Also, there are plans to set up training centres by these IT majors across the country in association with the Indian Institutes of Technology.

These centres will enable corporations to impart high-level training to teachers of networking and Internet-related technologies while facilitating wider exposure to their products and services.

To take the proposed virtual university network to all corners of the country and make it accessible to a maximum number of students and researchers, Ernet is in the process of increasing its points of presence.

The service, which is available in 10 cities, will be accessible in 20 more within two years. The end of the Ninth Five-Year Plan period will see presence in at least 50 cities, claimed Rai. "Our aim is to be in every university and R&D centre in the country," Rai says.

Also in the offing are Web hosting services for academic and research institutes. To extend its network, Ernet has got a category 'A' ISP licence. However, unlike a regular ISP, Ernet would act more as a content provider and would concentrate on providing distance education and distance library applications to institutes, said Rai.

In an effort to supplement its infrastructure, Ernet has applied to the Indian Space Research Organisation for an additional transponder and will have a backbone with a mix of terrestrial and satellite based wide area network with connection of 8 MB and 2MB.

At present, there are 104 VSATs at the disposal of the society. This is likely to go up to 300, says Rai. He expects the reinforced backbone to be up by June this year. This will enable Ernet to offer its service to most schools and colleges in the country, DoE officials feel.

The upgradation and expansion cost of the network and services is expected to be more than Rs 2 billion, the officials claim. While the society will continue to work on a no-profit-no-loss basis, officials are confident of generating most funds internally.

- Compiled from the Indian media

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