s have been identified as a suitable method for enabling sustainable connectivity.  There have been several types of such partnership models, such as the BOT (build operate transfer) model, BTO (build transfer operate) model, and joint venture model.  Globally, the private and public sectors are the two key players that collaborate on initiatives to bring voice and data connectivity in rural areas and in most cases they work in partnership with each other. However, planning and maintenance delays, inadequate monitoring, funding gaps and improper management are some of the shortcomings. Because of this, these models are unable to sustain themselves in the field for very long. Apart from this, a key feature that these models lacked was involvement of local people for whom the network has been facilitated. In India, these models largely follow a top-down approach, concentrating on a customer base and a suitable return on investment. The local and regional needs are sidelined and unattended to in such partnership models, making them unviable in rural areas. As a result, in order to make connectivity sustainable in rural India, there is a need to develop a suitable partnership model with village involvement as the crux.
This report discusses the Public-Private-Panchayat Partnership (4-P) model developed and validated on the ground for its sustainability in villages where connectivity has been enabled through our project. We also discuss how the 4-P model is implemented in Gram Marg villages and generates revenue, thereby making it a sustainable model. Currently this model is working successfully in the villages in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, where internet connectivity has been enabled by Gram Marg. The first part of the report gives a short overview of Gram Marg community-led networks. In the second part of the report, the development and validation of the sustainable 4-P model will be discussed. The final section highlights relevant policy measures needed for the adoption of a sustainable model in rural connectivity.
Towards rural connectivity: Gram Marg
The Gram Marg rural broadband project  at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), aims at connecting the unconnected by overcoming the barriers and challenges to connect rural India. In order to provide ubiquitous connectivity to rural, remote areas, research and development at the Gram Marg lab has suggested that a shift is required from traditional technologies to a more affordable, efficient and robust technology. To this effect, Gram Marg has deployed two large-scale test beds since its inception in 2012.
The first test bed that was set up by Gram Marg was based solely on TV white space (TVWS) technology, covering seven villages in Palghar, spanning an area of 25 sq km, in 2013-2014. The purpose of setting up a TV UHF band test bed was to check the feasibility of using TV UHF for middle-mile connectivity to provide high-speed broadband access to the villages. The test bed consisted of a single base station which connected to 12 clients situated at selected locations at varying distances. A 20 Mbps leased line was provisioned at the base station. A total of 10 Wi-Fi access points were deployed as well as three community kiosks, which were backhauled using the TV UHF band. Detailed results from this test bed have been published in papers. 
The second test bed is a scaled-up version of the earlier test bed which experimented with the feasibility of unlicensed bands such as 5.8 GHz for middle-mile connectivity covering 25 villages in Palghar, Maharashtra. The test bed spans an area of about 300 sq km, a network diagram of which is shown in Figure 1. Villages are divided into clusters of four to five villages, resulting in six clusters. Each cluster has one base station that has a fibre point of presence. In one cluster group of 15 villages, access is offered at Gram Panchayat offices only. In a second cluster group of 10 villages, Wi-Fi access points are deployed at strategic locations that can be accessed in an