‘Get connected, broadband is here’

‘Get connected, broadband is here’
Deccan Herald

As Bangalore’s IT denizens continue to grapple with traffic bottlenecks, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is swearing by a new mantra for solution – unwire...

As Bangalore’s IT denizens continue to grapple with traffic bottlenecks, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is swearing by a new mantra for solution — unwire. Addressing IT professionals at the launch of Bangalore IT.in and the award ceremony to honour the State’s top IT exporters on Friday, the chief minister said the State Government was working towards equipping Bangalore with Wireless Broadband Access.

Titled Bangalore Unwired, the project is based on the Wi-Max technology and the project blueprint is being prepared by a dedicated group under the chairmanship of the director, IIIT-B. “With the implementation of the project, the City will be the first in India providing broadband connectivity any time, any place and accessible to all at affordable costs within the City, covering a range of about 40-km radius,” Mr Kumaraswamy said.

The chief minister said the State Government would also dedicate a township for the knowledge sector between Bangalore and Mysore. The plan of Knowledge City — to come up on 5,000 acres of land — is being worked upon by the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA), he said.

A Bio-IT Park near Bidadi and Bangalore Nano, an annual event on the lines of Bangalore IT.in and Bangalore Bio are also on government agenda, Mr Kumaraswamy said.

Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh urged captains of the IT industry to contribute towards the betterment of public governance. Lauding the contributions of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in Andhra Pradesh, he said there was no dearth of issues in the public domain and called for companies to move beyond the Corporate Social Responsibility routine of building toilets and supplying computers to schools.

“As we become the software factory of the world, we also need to look at other sectors like health, transport and energy and bring the same commitment and professionalism into those sectors,” he said.

MURTHY AS GUIDE

The Chief Minister said former Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor N R Narayana Murthy would work closely with the State Government’s initiatives in the knowledge sector. “Mr Narayana Murthy, who just turned 60, has had a session with our senior officers today to firm up a road map for our State in the knowledge sector,” he said.

CM’s BOUWUET

nWireless broadband connectivity for Bangalore in 40-km radius

n5,000-acre Knowledge City between Bangalore and Mysore

nBio-IT Park near Bidadi

nBangalore Nano to showcase State’s skill-sets and research

nScience popularisation scheme as run-up to Bangalore IT.in