Bhadra is an outlier in the Indian state of Rajasthan, better known for its forts and palaces and wide swathes of desert.
This town of 40,000 people ringed by farms sees activity only around its bus stand. Just a couple of trains arrive at its deserted railway station every day.But this unremarkable place, 275km from the Indian capital, Delhi, is in news these days: it is the first town in India to offer full and cheap wi-fi coverage.For a place which had just a few internet connections a few months ago, Bhadra is a good example of how cheap and speedy wi-fi can change people’s lives – 1GB of data only costs 64 rupees (98 cents; 64p) every month.Sandeep Yadav of MTS India, a Rajasthan-based company responsible for providing the facility, describes small, developing towns like Bhadra as the “nerve-centres of aspirational India”.
