Conclusion

The connectivity issues in India have been multiplying exponentially with the stark increase in the number of phones and other internet enabled devices being used, over the last few years. The current statistics clearly show that we have a rising population of internet/mobile network users but we don't have the telecom infrastructure to support it fully.

After a lot of research and study, I have come upon the most viable solution for the connectivity problems in India.

The solution is Google's Project Loon.

Google has approached the government to set up the Loon project and Drone-based Internet transmission. Government has approved testing of Loon project only as of now. A committee under chairmanship of the Secretary, DEITY(Department of Electronics and Information Technology), has been formed to work on it. The DEITY committee is looking at various aspects to facilitate test like identifying locations, coordination with various agencies.

We might be looking at test runs of the Loon project as early as late 2016 itself. In the few coming years we will see proper implementation of this technology in various parts of the Nation, if all goes well with the Government and they approve the project.

Solution Mapping

When compared to each other, the three solutions provided different results for different parameters. These parameters are in relation to the problems in India, at large.

Here is the solution mapping.




























As is apparent from the comparison, Google's Project Loon is by far the best candidate for the resolution of most of the connectivity problems that India is facing right now. This would be our most viable solution.

Solutions

On scavenging the internet and hunting the news reports for probable solutions to the connectivity problem in question, I found three viable options.

Qualcomm's LTE Direct, Atremis' pCell and Google's Project Loon.

All of these are currently in the final stages of development and could deployed for public usage in the very near future.

Here are some infographics on each of these candidates.

Value Chain Analysis

I have attempted to understand the procedure which is followed from the cell towers to the phone in my hand, when transmitting the signal, in terms of hierarchy and protocols. What I found was that almost each part had minute flaws, except for a few, which had even greater problems, which need to be addressed.

Here is my Value Chain Analysis:

According to me and most of the existing statistical data, a change is desperately required at the base of the value chain in order to improve the connectivity here. The base of the value chain being the Telecom Infrastructure. The solution of the problem at hand should address this issue first hand, to be able to tackle the greater connectivity issue. 

Stakeholder Analysis

I looked into the main factors at play when accounting for the telecom services rendered to the average Indian consumer. I have tried to simplify that hierarchy and I've prepared a graphical representation of the same.

Here is the Stakeholder Analysis:

SWOT Analysis

SWOT - Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats Analysis

I analysed the current state of telecom in India according to news reports and surveys and prepared an outline of all the strengths and weaknesses associated with it. Then I extrapolated the opportunities and the threats it presented.

Here's the data:

Problem Assessment Matrix

As far as the Internet problems in India are concerned, the main factor that arises is the fact that the mass population doesn't even consider our inadequate Internet quality as an issue. To prove that we are pretty far behind as compared to the other nations out there, I've plotted a Matrix with information I've gathered from several separate surveys that I came across. They all point to the same thing, India is seriously lagging behind. I believe that solving any one of the various problematic factors would lead to a chain reaction that alleviates the other problems on some level. That hypothesis, however, requires more research, that part comes later.

Here is the Problem Assessment Matrix:

Survey Results

After conducting the survey that I mentioned in the previous post, I have finally got my results. The results point to a similar set of problems that the public at large are facing, thereby proving that the state of the internet in India is quite meagre, but it lacks a movement. The key problems in the consumer market aren't just limited to this list here, this is simply a short survey of the students around here to get a clearer picture of the state of internet and mobile network usage problems in my immediate surroundings.

Here are the results:

Public Survey

I designed a survey to isolate the exact problems that the people around me and in contact with me were facing. This helped me get a broader idea as to how much the problems at large coincide with the more local and immediate surroundings.

Basic Mind Map

I constructed a mind map of the difficulties most Indians face with regards to connectivity, with reference to many surveys and reports in the news and individual complaints by the public at large.
































This is the mind map which led me to a potential line of thought which might lead to a plausible solution for the connectivity problem that we are facing.

Prologue: The Compromise

Being an active internet user like yourself, reading this post right now, I can vouch for the importance of the internet in today's day and age. Folks here have all but learned to live with poor call quality and unreliable/poor/slow internet service throughout the country in different places. I've lost count of how many times I've prayed to get a bar of signal in some odd area in the outskirts of a city or hoped that my mobile internet would give me the speeds it promised. Maybe we've forgotten to address a problem, out of compromising, or rather settling for what we got. Its not too much to ask for, and if you take a look around, a lot of people are facing the same problems.

Its not coincidence, this has become a problem as of late.