“Oh, are you an electrician?” “What is this Wi-Fi business?” “Do you even make money doing this?” “How come you are doing this work as a girl?” These are just some of the common remarks Rabzes hears as she forges a new path in Ladakh’s digital landscape. But rather than letting these comments deter her, she embraces them as markers of the change she is driving.
Rabzes is Ladakh’s first female Internet Service Provider (ISP), leading the charge in bringing connectivity to the region’s most remote villages. Her journey has been anything but conventional, marked by perseverance, learning, and a passion for breaking stereotypes.
A Childhood of Curiosity and Learning
Growing up in Stok, Rabzes spent her childhood playing ‘teacher-teacher’ after school. Later, when she moved to Skalzangling in grade seven, she had better access to coaching centers, particularly for math and science. Though she had a laptop at home, the internet remained an unknown entity. Her first exposure to a laptop came through a tenant, as she had only seen computers in school. Driven by curiosity, she pleaded with her father, who was traveling to Delhi for business, to bring her one.
The Early Days of Internet Discovery
Rabzes first encountered Facebook in ninth grade, accessing it at a cyber café with her friends—a ritual that quickly became a daily routine after school. Phones were a rarity, and she received her first one in tenth grade, though without a SIM card. By the time she reached eleventh and twelfth grade, her focus shifted entirely to academics at her boarding school, where devices were not allowed. Determined to secure a place in a good university, she immersed herself in her studies.
A New Path in Taiwan
After completing high school, Rabzes pursued commerce in Delhi while simultaneously studying Chinese at DU. She had always envisioned herself studying in China or Taiwan. Although obtaining a Chinese visa proved difficult, she successfully secured one for Taiwan. However, delays in receiving graduation documents forced her to postpone her plans. Finally, in December 2019, she arrived in Taiwan, where she pursued an MBA while working part-time at an Indian restaurant and later as a teacher.
Finding Purpose in Connectivity
Upon returning to India, Rabzes continued working remotely in education, but she couldn’t ignore the persistent lack of internet access in her homeland. Her father, already acquainted with Durgesh, a founder of Hybrid Internet, saw an opportunity for collaboration. Inspired by the idea, Rabzes partnered with Hybrid Internet to expand its services in Ladakh, beginning with Stok and Saboo. In the following year, she fully committed herself to the mission.
Despite initial skepticism and gender biases, she immersed herself in the technical aspects of wireless connections. She encountered challenges, particularly in Shey, where inconsistent signal strength made traditional wireless solutions ineffective. Determined to find a solution, she learned fiber-optic connections from her engineer within two days, successfully bringing stable connectivity to the area.
Transforming Ladakh’s Digital Landscape
One of her most impactful projects was in Hanley, a village entirely cut off from the internet. The gratitude of the villagers upon receiving connectivity reaffirmed her purpose. Additionally, her expertise caught the attention of Oberoi Grand Hotel, which onboarded her for their Leh location—a major milestone in her career.
Breaking Barriers and Inspiring Change
Rabzes’ journey is a testament to the power of determination and breaking stereotypes. She believes that no job is too big or small, and that gender should never define one’s career choices. Her advice to young people is simple: if you are capable and determined, no barrier—technical or societal—can hold you back.
Through her work, she is not only bridging Ladakh’s digital divide but also inspiring a new generation of women to pursue careers in technology. Rabzes is living proof that with vision, hard work, and resilience, unconventional dreams can become reality.
Digital Divide in India: Causes, Consequences and Solutions The digital divide is the gap between those who have access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as the internet and mobile phones, and those who do not. The digital divide can have significant implications for social and economic development, as well as for individual empowerment and participation.
In this blog post, we will explore the digital divide in India, one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing online markets, but also one of the most unequal and diverse. We will look at the causes, consequences and solutions of the digital divide in India, based on various sources of data and research.
Causes of the digital divide in India:
The digital divide in India is influenced by multiple factors, such as:
Geography: India is a vast country with diverse terrain and climatic conditions, which pose challenges for building and maintaining ICT infrastructure. Rural areas, especially in remote or hilly regions, often lack adequate connectivity, electricity, and network coverage. According to the National Family Health Survey 2019–21 (NFHS), only 36.5% of rural households had access to the internet, compared to 62.4% of urban households.
Gender: Women in India face various socio-cultural barriers that limit their access to and use of ICTs, such as lack of education, mobility, decision-making power, safety, and privacy. The NFHS reported that only 33.3% of women had ever used the internet, compared to 57.1% of men. The gender gap was present across all states and was wider in rural areas than in urban areas.
Income: Affordability is a major constraint for accessing and using ICTs in India, where a large proportion of the population lives below the poverty line or on low incomes. The cost of devices, data plans, and other services can be prohibitive for many people, especially in rural areas where incomes are lower and livelihoods are more vulnerable. According to the World Bank, only 14% of the poorest 20% of households in India had internet access in 2017, compared to 72% of the richest 20%.
Literacy: Digital literacy is the ability to use ICTs effectively and safely for various purposes. It requires basic literacy skills as well as technical skills and awareness. In India, where the literacy rate is 77.7%, according to the 2021 census, many people lack the necessary skills and knowledge to access and use ICTs. Moreover, language is another barrier, as most online content and services are in English or other dominant languages, while many people speak regional or local languages. Consequences of the digital divide in India The digital divide in India has serious implications for various aspects of development and well-being, such as:
Education: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of online education as a mode of learning and teaching during lockdowns and school closures. However, many students and teachers in India lack access to online platforms or devices, or face issues such as low bandwidth, frequent power cuts, or poor quality content. This affects their learning outcomes and opportunities, especially for disadvantaged groups such as girls, Dalits, Adivasis, and minorities.
Health: ICTs can play a vital role in improving health outcomes and services by providing information, awareness, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and telemedicine. However, many people in India are unable to access or use these benefits due to lack of connectivity, affordability, or digital literacy. This affects their health status and access to quality care, especially for rural populations, women, children, elderly, and people with disabilities.
Economy: ICTs can boost economic growth and productivity by enabling innovation, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, e-governance, and financial inclusion. However, many people in India are excluded from these opportunities due to lack of access or use of ICTs. This affects their income generation and employment prospects, especially for informal workers, small businesses, farmers, and artisans.
Society: ICTs can enhance social inclusion and participation by enabling communication, information sharing, networking, advocacy, and civic engagement. However, many people in India are marginalized or silenced due to lack of access or use of ICTs. This affects their voice and agency, especially for women, minorities, activists, and journalists. Solutions for the digital divide in India The digital divide in India is a complex and multidimensional problem that requires concerted and collaborative efforts from various stakeholders, such as:
Government: The government has a key role in creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment for ICT development and diffusion, as well as providing public infrastructure, services, and subsidies to ensure universal and affordable access and use of ICTs. Some of the government initiatives in this regard include the BharatNet project, the Digital India programme, the National Digital Literacy Mission, and the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan.
Private sector: The private sector has a crucial role in innovating and investing in ICT products, solutions, and platforms that cater to the diverse and dynamic needs and preferences of the Indian market, as well as ensuring quality, reliability, and security of their offerings. Some of the private sector initiatives in this regard include the Jio network, the Google Internet Saathi programme, the Facebook Express Wi-Fi project, and the Microsoft Project ReWeave.
Civil society: The civil society has a vital role in advocating and raising awareness about the importance and benefits of ICTs, as well as providing training, support, and resources to enhance digital literacy and skills among various segments of the population, especially the marginalized and vulnerable groups. Some of the civil society initiatives in this regard include the Digital Empowerment Foundation, the Internet Freedom Foundation, the Pratham Education Foundation, and the Barefoot College. Conclusion
The digital divide in India is a major challenge that needs to be addressed urgently and effectively. ICTs have the potential to transform India’s development and well-being, but only if they are accessible and usable by all. By bridging the digital divide, India can unleash its human and social capital, and achieve its vision of a digitally inclusive and empowered society.
In this series, I talk about the current state of digital divide and rural broadband access in India as on 2021.
It’s 2021. We have been vocal about this issue for almost a decade now. Thousands of Indian villages suffer because of lack of broadband and Internet access.
With COVID and the economic lockdown for the lower and middle class, this country is facing one its biggest crisis in the century. There is an urgent need to enable information and Internet access for every single citizen of this country.
How do we expect children to be a part of online education without Internet access?
How do we expect people to participate in a digital economy without having access to Internet?
Does e-governance simply mean making new b.s. apps to give people an illusion that something is being done?
Why don’t we treat Internet access as a human right in this country?
To elevate poverty and misery from this country – we have to ensure equal opportunity to access information for all. This means, connecting every last village with broadband Internet access. We are one of the youngest countries in the world with tremendous potential to not just uplift ourselves but to also raise the standards for this entire sub-continent. We rise despite our government, not because of it.
From student protests to farmer protests, the government of India has time and again demonstrated its oppressive nature by blocking or censoring the Internet. However, nothing has been done to provide last mile connectivity to rural areas. The apathetic nature of our ruling classes do not consider the plight of the weakest members of our society. At this stage, for those of us who remain conscious, it’s up to us to empower the weakest and the most vulnerable members of our countries with infrastructure and educational access.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zk1C6IDhLw] At Muft Internet, one of the trusted internet bandwidth providers in India, we have been teaching locals from different remote villages in India how to set up their own community broadband without ANY help from big telco or the government. Both of which focus on quantity and profit instead of inclusivity while designing access solutions for the masses.
Since the lockdown hit last year, our team has been working round the clock to share this knowledge. Mobilizing young Indians to take charge of their own village’s broadband access. There is no point waiting for the government or big telcos to set up infrastructure in these remote and forgotten places.
We are one of the lowest ranking countries for Internet speeds and freedom. We have some of most wide-spread Internet censorship. A mark of a strong democracy and a civilised society is how they treat Internet access for it’s citizens. In India, we simply lack this.
Some of the villages we got broadband Internet to last year didn’t have 2g or any mobile network to communicate. We have been getting 100s of phones calls every week from villagers asking us to help them set up community broadband access for their villages, they wanted to know how to get wifi connection in village. It’s been impossible for us to reach all of these places at the same time considering our small research and technical team that works pro-bono.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpMl04ooAps] In light of this situation, we are launching our own digital education platform that aims to teach young Indians how to set up and run their rural broadband network. A simple 100 hour free course with a centralised helpline that will possibly transform the state of access in this country in time to come.
