The most honest way to define development is when a country aims to simplify everyday things for its citizens and the signs of development in India are hard to ignore. At the helm of this philosophy lies the Digital India campaign. The devil they say is in the details. So what if every detail of your life is simplified with fewer steps and lesser queues? Unthinkable right? When we’ve all grown up waiting in some queue or other most of our lives. It’s almost second nature to Indians.
Here’s where you get to be a truly digital Indian. How? Quite simple really. Imagine not having to hand out photo copies of IDs, instead being able to store all your government documents like your PAN card in the DigiLocker. Or how about avoiding those serpentine lines to submit your driver’s licence application at the RTO? Ever thought the so called ‘outdated’ post offices could only deliver snail mail and not become cyber cafes? As part of its e-governance initiative, it isn’t just about making things simple. It’s about A.C.C.E.S.S. Giving everyone the same opportunity to equip themselves with knowledge to create a simpler life.
A natural extension of which is the internet and connectivity. A basic right in today’s age, considering most dimensions of life exist on the information super highway. But it’s more about practice than theory and one of the corporates that has adopted Digital India’s interests has been Airtel, which has sought to provide a better service to the end user through knowledge sharing and closing the distance in communication. Airtel has worked ceaselessly to make the internet accessible to everyone, a parallel no doubt to one of the pillars of Digital India.
Airtel’s Open Network aims to go where no telecom giant has gone before. Transparency. Sharing information with its client. Keeping them informed which means honoring their concerns. It’s about being available to the end user to a greater degree. Pretty awesome right? But what does it really mean?
What if you no longer felt the urge to slam your phone after a call drop? What if you just had to check a map of your locality to check the signal strength of your network? It always helps to know the reason for why you don’t have great network rather than mull in frustration. With an open network portal for instance you could know if it’s the lack of a tower, a forcibly shut down site or a tower that is planned and soon coming up.
But it’s not just about equipping you with information. It’s giving you the power to change things. A first by all means. You can get together with influencers from your locality and make an appeal for a new tower. The larger picture is all about acknowledging the problem and becoming a cog in the wheel that provides the solution.
What’s quite cool is the fact that you can check out the connectivity of an area no matter how remote before you set out on that road trip. Fewer rude surprises on a journey…you do the math.
Digital India is all about providing information to all and Airtel sure seems to be adding value to that goal with its Open Network initiative. Certainly a first for a company to admit to connectivity loopholes. And like they say if there’s always room for improvement somebody better be putting their money where their mouth is!
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