Next year, when the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) carries out a landmark project to connect interior Africa with a lightning fast wireless internet connection, a team from the Pune-based International Institute of Information Technology (I2IT) will be in the centre of action.
The team will work closely with ITU to set the wireless network first in Kenya as a demonstration model and then extend it all over the African continent. I2IT will send its faculty and professionals who have hands on experience in wireless technology to help them integrate the system, says Vijay Bhatkar, chief mentor of I2IT.
The project is expected to be completed by 2006 and will use integrated Wi-Fi and Wi-Max systems to connect rural Africa with its existing urban communication networks. I2IT will not only supply the expertise to set up the network, but will also be involved in the planning and training phase.
And why is ITU looking to India for help? You have good expertise after setting up such a system in India, which will help, says Prof Sandro Radicella of International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, which has signed a MoU with I2IT to promote wireless networks in developing countries. Radicella, who has developed a vital component of the new Galileo satellite system, adds that ICTP, which is closely associated with ITU, is looking at I2IT as a focal contact with Indian education institutions.
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