Could India have internet being provided through electricity wires? Country head of Intel India, Nivruti Rai, thinks so.
Rai says that the company has begun a project in India called WoW, or Wireless over Wire, that takes internet through electrical wires. Considering that most villages have electricity connections if not fibre optic cables for internet, this could be a big breathrough if it works.
What is the Technology?
Since laying optical fibre to all villages is expensive and will take a long time, Intel is trying to direct a project where the internet could be provided to remote areas of the country through electrical wires.
Nivruti Rai was quoted as saying, “Wherever there is electricity, we have a scalable, affordable way where we can provide data (through the wires) to the village. And from the village to the homes, it could be Wi-Fi”, Times of India reported.
How Does It Work?
The concept is similar to the way telephone lines carry both voice and data by splitting the line into separate channels.
Similarly, while lower-frequency, alternating current signals carry electric power, high-frequency signals carry the broadband data.
Though, for the technology to be adapted, power outlet at the receiving point will require modification for different signals to be carried.
Rai was quoted as saying, “My goal is bigger than me, bigger than Intel, it’s for India. Because, if 6 lakh villages are connected with data, if they have access to the global market, India grows, and we grow with them”, TOI reported.
The technology is similar to Elon Musk’s Starlink, which aims to provide internet though a growing network of private satellites launched by the billionaire.
However, data over power lines is more vulnerable to external interference than when passed through optical fibre cables, a challenge Intel is yet to overcome.
(With inputs from The Times of India.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)