Providing affordable broadband, especially to the suburban and rural communities is the next focus area,  said Telecom Secretary, Siddhartha Behura.

The increased rural telecom connectivity is poised to give a new burst of growth for the community. On a larger plane, however, there will be multiplier effects for the rural economy, Behura said at a conference on '3G: The Next Wave'.

Provision of broadband in rural and remote areas will also help in bridging the so called 'digital divide', he said.    It will help improve productivity in rural areas, help overcome the constraints of an inadequate transport infrastructure and overall improve the quality of life. It is expected that 3G will play a critical role in fulfilling these requirements of rural India and will also act as a cost effective medium to reach them,he said.

As telecom connectivity and broadband connectivity becomes a reality, the rural localities will become more integrated with the rapid growth processes taking place in the rest of the economy, he said.

There will be increased socio economic opportunities for rural citizens, which will enable greater employment prospects and purchasing power. The spin off benefits will be felt, not just in telecom, but right across the entire economy, he said.

''What we do need to keep in mind is that the rural subscribers need more than plain vanilla voice sercies. Their requirement is much more, sometimes more than the urban subscribers. Services like health care, education, and e-governance  which the urban subsribers take for granted are of greater importance to them than to their urban counterparts.These can be delivered to them through broadband
kind of services." X