Indian entrepreneurs can build next Google: Eric Schmidt

India's entrepreneurial innovators have the potential to build the "next Google" if the country "plays its cards right" and ensures Internet access for millions of its citizens, Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has said.

In an essay written for the book 'Reimagining India: Unlocking The Potential of Asia's Next Superpower' edited by global consulting firm McKinsey, Schmidt dubbed India "an Internet laggard" saying he feels Internet in the country today iswhere it was in America in about 1994 - four years before Google was even born.

He said India must increase its Internet penetration across towns and cities, a move that will have a positive impact on its economy and society.

The former Google CEO said he witnessed the creative potential of India's peoplearound him in Silicon ValleyIndia-born entrepreneurs account for 40 per cent of start-ups.

"Just think what will happen when India's entrepreneurial innovators are able to create great global companies without leaving their country. They will change the world. Hundreds of large firms focused on the Internet will be founded and will succeed by focusing purely on Indian consumers, Indian taste, Indian style, Indian sports.

"Can anyone of those companies ultimately become the next Google? Of course."

"That may not happen for quite a few years. But if India plays its cards right, we will soon see Indian engineers and small businesses tackling Indian problems first, then exporting the solutions that work best," Schmidt said.

With a total population of 1.2 billion, India has over 600 million mobile-phone users but only about 150 million people regularly connect to the Internet.

In 2011, India's Internet penetration rate was 11 per cent, "far below" that of developed nationspenetration rates average 70 per cent.

India's Internet penetration rate is less than a third of China's penetration ratio of 38 per cent and less than half of those in developing countries, which average 24 per cent.

"By any reasonable definition, India is an Internet laggard... In spite of its well deserved reputation as one of the world's leading IT and software development hubs, India is farbeing the connected society many foreigners imagine," Schmidt said.

The number of India's broadband users, 20 million, is even smaller, Schmidt said however adding that India is on the cusp of a connectivity revolution.

"I believe India has the chance to leapfrog its current connectivity challenges, bring Internet access to a majority of its citizens - and even raise its penetration ratio to 60 or 70 per cent within the next 5-10 years," he said.

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New research centre promises bright future for web Technology

Faster, more reliable internet connections will move a step closer to reality with the opening of a new research centre at the University of Edinburgh.

A new generation of high-speed internet technology which is more secure and versatile than Wi-Fi, will be developed at the research facility.

This light-based communication technology, also known as Li-Fi – which is transmitted using light waves instead of existing radio technology – is seen as the successor to the latest 4G wireless internet systems which came on stream in the UK in 2012.

Demand for wireless internet access from the revolution in smartphone technology is in danger of overloading the amount that can currently be supplied by Wi-Fi.  Researchers say that Li-Fi has no such limitations and could enable this potential capacity crisis to be overcome.

Using light to deliver wireless internet will also allow connectivity in environments that do not currently support Wi-Fi, such as aircraft cabins and hospitals.

The new Li-Fi R&D Centre in Edinburgh will encourage collaboration between world-leading experts from the University and other key research institutes around the world.

A key player in the new centre will be Professor Harald Haas, who is widely recognised as the “father of Li-Fi.” Professor Haas is Chair of Mobile Communications at the University of Edinburgh and co-founder of a spin-out company, pureLiFi.

Professor Haas will outline the objectives of the new centre when he speaks at the Global Leaders Forum 2013, which takes place in Seoul, South Korea, today.

Researchers at the Centre are keen to identify new industrial partners and to collaborate more widely with major international electronics companies to further develop Li-Fi technology.

Professor Haas said: “This internationally leading UK centre will accelerate the adoption of Li-Fi and emerging wireless technology through engagement with major industrial partners, to fully harness the commercial and innovative potential of Li-Fi, and establish a major new $6billion Li-Fi industry.”

Professor Lesley Yellowlees, Head of the University of Edinburgh’s College of Science and Engineering, said: “The University of Edinburgh has a strong track record in communications research and providing industry solutions to this sector.  This new R&D centre in Edinburgh is a unique opportunity for the UK to lead the global development of Li-Fi technology.”