A Survey on Rural Internet Connectivity in India

TL;DR

This survey reviews various technological and economic solutions for improving rural internet connectivity in India, analyzing current projects, challenges, and future prospects including 6G applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of existing rural connectivity initiatives in India, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and exploring future 6G use-cases.

Findings

Multiple solutions are being tested to improve rural connectivity.

Economic and technological challenges are significant barriers.

6G has potential for rural Indian scenarios.

Abstract

Rural connectivity is widely research topic for several years. In India, around 70% of the population have poor or no connectivity to access digital services. Different solutions are being tested and trialled around the world, especially in India. They key driving factor for reducing digital divide is exploring different solutions both technologically and economically to lower the cost for the network deployments and improving service adoption rate. In this survey, we aim to study the rural connectivity use-cases, state of art projects and initiatives, challenges, and technologies to improve digital connectivity in rural parts of India. The strengths and weakness of different technologies which are being tested for rural connectivity is analyzed. We also explore the rural use-case of 6G communication system which would be suitable for rural Indian scenario.