IUNet to exit Sankhya Vahini

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Voice&Data Bureau
New Update

IUNet, a division of Carnegie Mellon University has decided to withdraw its
proposal to set up a mammoth Rs 1,000-crore next-generation network called
Sankhya Vahini in collaboration with the Indian government alleging red tape.
The decision to withdraw from the controversial project which held the promise
to revolutionise data transmission, internet usage and other aspects of it in
India was conveyed on behalf of Carnegie Mellon University by Dr VS Arunachalam,
president of IUNet, to telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh. In his communication to
Ghosh, Arunachalam said: "Even almost two years after the Cabinet approval,
the project has not been sanctioned. Two years in information technology is
considered a lifetime," according to the sources. "Similar projects in
other parts of the world that were not even on the drawing board when we made
our original proposal are now in commercial operation and are being upgraded to
higher performance levels," Arunachalam said.

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Arunachalam said Iunet, the university, and the potential investors for this
project were now reluctant to invest any more of their resoures in this project.
"We, therefore, very much regret to inform you of our decision to
withdraw," he added. "The so-called public interest litigation against
the project and the continuing adjournments in the court for more than a year,
often because of the absence of the government's lawyer, have not encouraged us
either," Arunachalam said.

He said the board (university) has also noted that DoT has not forwarded in
its collaboration with Iunet in spite of the court's observation that they had
not granted a stay order, and that there was nothing binding against the
government going ahead with the project.

Sankhya Vahini was to be the next generation data network offering
dramatically higher bandwidths for its users. In the first 12 months, it was to
commission approximately 10,000 km.

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