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UTStarcom confident of providing Wi-Fi in top 20 Indian cities by 2015′

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New Delhi: Aglobal telecom infrastructure provider UTStarcom is confident of providing Wi-Fi in top 20 Indian cities by 2015 when the country is launching another round of spectrum auctions in February.

“Wi-Fi will compliment data offload applications, which is something that all operators are implementing worldwide. India also has started (on this). By the end of 2015, Wi-Fi will be a reality in India. It will be there in top 20 cities in India, full coverage,” Rahul Pandey, director – sales (SAARC Countries) at UTStarcom, told IANS.

Wi-Fi is the popular term for a high-frequency wireless local area network technology.

UTStarcom, with its operation headquarters in Hong Kong, recorded a $160 million turnover in 2013, with India being the second highest market after Japan. The company has been present in India since 2000 and has worked extensively with private and public players in deploying telecom infrastructure.

“After 2G, everyone (operators) came to 3G and paid for spectrum. There will be a stage they will be running out of spectrum to expand. So, that is the time, typically, when Wi-Fi comes in,” UTStarcom chief executive officer William Wong told IANS.

“When Wi-Fi comes in, the cost of carrying data will be around one-tenth. If they want to offload the traffic on 3G or 4G and move it to Wi-Fi, the operating expenses will be dramatically reduced. That’s what exactly we see in Japan,” he added.

The company is working with a host of operators and they are bullish and determined on Wi-Fi connectivity. “They will be doing in phased manner. Some of them have started in trail phase,” Pandey said, declining to name the operators.

The company met Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg in September 2014. Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad went to Japan after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. Prasad inspected the UTStarcom deployment there.

“We have deployed more than 500,000 hotspots (Wi-Fi area), which means 1.5 million access points. The telecom secretary showed interest to replicate it in India,” Pandey said.

The Indian government is extremely keen on speedy rollout of Wi-Fi services in the country.

“No policy problems. We have met all the telecom operators and they are finalising their budgets for Wi-Fi. The company is ready for deployment. We have expertise available. So it’s not a challenge for us,” Pandey added.

The company is focussing on the government’s National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) that will help it to deploy Wi-Fi in rural areas. NOFN is set to link 600 million rural citizens of India across 250,000 gram panchayats spread over 6,600 blocks and 631 districts through a broadband optical fibre network.

“We talk about affordable connectivity. By affordable connectivity, we are looking at things like what the country is already doing in 4G deployment. There is lack of spectrum. One of the quickest ways to reach high percentage of deployment would be the adoption of Wi-Fi,” Wong said.

“We did half a million in Japan in half a year. With NOFN on schedule, we could be coupling hand in hand with NOFN deployment. The minute NOFN deployment is done we can connect places with Wi-Fi,” he added.

Wong said UTStarcom’s platform supports a very dense number of hotspots. One controller can manage up to 120,000 hotspots.

“Now we are looking at the government for acceleration in deployment in both public and private sectors. The Modi government is active in connecting not just the Metros but also rural areas. So, I believe they are taking the right steps. So India can catch up on the global stage,” Shalin Shah, general manager, India operations, UTStarcom, told IANS.

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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma

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World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.

Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.

During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.

On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”

Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.

Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.

Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”

On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”

The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.

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