From Jan, get to Pune on the cyber highway

Updated On: 18 August, 2009 06:57 AM IST | | Urvashi Seth

Better Internet and phone connectivity planned

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From Jan, get to Pune on the cyber highway

Better Internet and phone connectivity planned

Commuters travelling on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway will be able to enjoy uninterrupted connectivity both on the Internet and on their cell phones from January.

MSRDC in collaboration with Microscan Computers Private Ltd will install BTS (Base Transreceiver Systems) of various telecom service providers and Wimax (see box) that will enable better connectivity.

The company has identified 52 locations on the highway that lack cellular and CDMA coverage, due to which commuters face call drops andu00a0 bad internet connectivity.

The BTS is equipment that provides wireless communication between a user and a network, and is placed atop streetlights.
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"We conducted a Radio Frequency survey on the 101-km stretch of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway after receiving a number of complaints that Internet and phone connectivity were a major problem especially in the tunnels.

We then decided to install BTS for various service providers and test the network," said Sandeep Donde, MD of Microscan Computers, the company that will install the equipment.

The company is planning to set up kiosks at select locations in Mumbai and Pune to provide a prepaid card service on the expressway. "We are in talks with MSRDC to allow us to sell the cards at the toll nakas," added Dhonde.

Said S P Jain, owner of Pride Group of hotels in Pune who often travels on the expressway, "Call drops are a major issue and an uninterrupted service will be a boon to all travellers."

Added Nikhil Rawal, another frequent traveller, "Half my work takes place through the Internet, but the expressway has poor connectivity. It would be great if we got better service."

What is WIMAX?

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-multipoint links to portable and fully mobile Internet access.

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