Rs 20k cr broadband plan okayed

The cabinet on, Tuesday, approved an ambitious project to set up national optical fibre network (NOFN) to connect about two lakh villages in 5,000 blocks throughout the country. The cost of the project will be Rs 20,000 crore.

The cabinet on, Tuesday, approved an ambitious project to set up national optical fibre network (NOFN) to connect about two lakh villages in 5,000 blocks throughout the country. The cost of the project will be Rs 20,000 crore.

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Optical fibre network is necessary to provide high-speed broadband connectivity to rural area. The government will constitute an SPV to execute the project. The SPV will work closely with public sector units such as BSNL, Railtel, and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd.

It will utilise the existing optical fibre network of these companies. It will also lay additional fibre network. "This is to ensure that there is no duplication of fibre network," said a government official. This will also help in generating additional revenue for BSNL as it has the largest network.

Earlier, the DoT wanted that BSNL should be the sole agency for rolling out and managing the network.

The subsidy will be provided from the Universal Service Obligation Fund that is raised through a 5 % levy imposed on telecom operators' revenues. It is utilised for supporting telecom services in rural areas.