U.S. Industry Ready to Bring Broadband to India, Obama Says

U.S. telecom companies are “ready to install broadband connections to give communities reliable access to the Internet and to help build the smart cities that [India’s] Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi has called for,” President Barack Obama said Monday at the U.S.-India Business Council Summit in New Delhi. “We can work together to develop new technologies that help India leap forward,” Obama said. He cited India’s plans of “fast-tracking American investments” in the country: “We need to be fostering a business environment that’s more transparent and more consistent, and more predictable. In knowledge-based economies, entrepreneurs and innovators need to feel confident that their hard work and, in particular, their intellectual property will be protected.” Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker is accompanying Obama on the trip. Disney CEO Bob Iger was also present for a CEO roundtable on the visit, a pool news report said Monday. Obama said a lack of effective IP protection has caused U.S. industry to limit investment in India, hurting India's software development, according to a different pool report.