in this partnership model is as follows:
- The Panchayat owns the network at the village level. It plays a major role in defining priorities for the local digital needs of the villagers. In one revenue model it purchases the bandwidth and enables revenue generation by reselling the bandwidth to the villagers. In another revenue model, local youth from the villages are appointed as VLEs by the Gram Panchayat and operate and maintain the network in the village, also selling bandwidth to the villagers.
- The private sector partner provided the bandwidth which enabled connectivity to the 25 villages.
- The public sector partner plays a vital role in technology innovation, deploying the network and providing the capital expenditure (CAPEX) funding for setting up the network infrastructure in the villages.
Validation of the 4-P model on the ground
A partnership model is not sufficient in itself if it does not have revenue generation as an important part of it. The revenue generation aspect of the partnership model addresses the sustainability of the connectivity after the unconnected villages are connected. For the validation of the 4-P model on ground, the first step has been to identify the two important cost indicators, i.e. CAPEX and operational expenditure (OPEX). For setting up a network, there is a CAPEX investment that is needed and the OPEX needs to be recovered. Revenue generation has, as a result, been identified as an important aspect of the model, without which the model cannot be sustained. This incentivises the Gram Panchayat and the VLE to maintain the network in the village. Usage of the connectivity was also analysed through monitoring traffic data, which helped in understanding the bandwidth requirement at each Gram Panchayat.
In order to test the sustainability of the 4 P model, the 25 villages have been divided into two groups each with a different revenue-generation method. The villages were separated into groups based on their proximity to the highway (Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway): 15 villages that are located close to the highway comprised one group and 10 villages that are located in the remote tribal areas comprised the second group. The 4-P model is being validated in the two groups to test the model's viability, scalability, replicability and adoption in different village contexts.
The first step in the validation process has been to look at the traffic data of all 25 villages. The network went live in October 2017. Initial analysis of the traffic data from all the villages suggests that connectivity is being used by the people. Data from October 2017 to March 2018 (as illustrated in Figure 3) show an increase in number of users and in data usage. This can be viewed as a satisfactory service in terms of internet availability and speed.
Figure 3. Data usage and number of users from traffic data
Data on monthly uploads and downloads by the internet users in these villages shows that there are more downloads than uploads. From October 2017 to March 2018, downloads increased from 96 GB to 154 GB. While uploads account for less data usage than downloads they are also increasing, from 6 GB to 15 GB. This is in line with consumer patterns where downloads are more than uploads.
The traffic data of the 25 villages also gives a broad overview of the utilisation of bandwidth by the users in the form of websites most visited. As shown in Figure 4, 40% of the bandwidth has been used for Windows updates, followed by YouTube, Hotstar  and visits to Microsoft.com. In the case of Windows updates, this is likely to be the result of automatic updates by the software vendor. Due to the high illiteracy levels (60% in these villages), users say that they are unable to do keyword searches. As a result they prefer sites like YouTube and Hotstar.
Figure 4. Websites most visited by the users
Revenue generation as part of the 4-P model
In the 15 villages cluster (the first group), the revenue model is through the local ISP. The local ISP has enabled 2 Mbps bandwidth at each Gram Panchayat office and gets directly paid by the Gra