Rural Telecom Foundation (RTF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving rural telecom access in India. We aim to bring rural economic development by bringing telecommunications. Our vision is to help provide telecom access to the common person in rural India.
The main focus of the foundation is to promote the right solutions that benefit the underprivileged rural people in India. There is a great digital divide between rural and urban areas, and there is a further divide between the affluent and ordinary rural person. It is in India's national interest to bridge this gap and to get everyone on the telecom network.
Rural Telecom Foundation will continue to support public policy for Universal Access at the household level. To achieve the right public policy that rapidly advances rural telecom, there are three variables that need to be worked on:
- Identify and create commercially viable business models
- Provide sufficient capital
- Develop new technology or adapt existing technology to suit the needs of the rural market
Only a commercial model with very little or no government subsidy will spread rural telecom access in any significant way. In the past, we have undertaken a number of pilot projects to see if customized technologies can help to spread telecommunications in a fast and simple manner. However, it has become increasingly clear that a new technology or a few large companies cannot spread rural telecom since it requires a lot of capital and a different strategic approach.
We believe that several small independent or franchise telecom companies are an absolute requirement for rural telecom to spread. We are currently working on a pilot project to see if a franchise model of running a telephone exchange will help spread the awareness and increase business for telecom companies in the rural areas.
We hope that the process we adopt will be replicated by individuals and/or institutions across the country, enabling the people in remote areas get access to the telephone. |
