The fiberisation of the remote and rural areas with optical fibre cable will be implemented under the PPP model to achieve affordable broadband connectivity.

February 9, 2022

Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan has expressed that the Government of India is aiming to fiberise 6 lakh villages by 2025. The planned fiberisation is intended to bridge the digital divide that exists between the urban and rural areas in the country. To date, 2.6 lakh villages in the country have already been linked with optical fibre cable.

“The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans to execute the target [of fibersation] by 2025. This will also bridge the digital divide, as well as fulfill the motto of ‘minimum governance and maximum government’,” Chauhan said while speaking at the 15th ICAI Awards.

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“Soon BSNL will deploy a completely indigenously manufactured 4G mobile network. It is expected that by the third quarter of this year, we will have indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured a 5G mobile network. My ministry has also launched the Productivity-Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) with an overlay of INR 12,195 crore for encouraging and developing technical and networking products”, he further added.

In Union Budget 2022-23 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government will auction the 5G spectrum in 2022 enabling the rollout of 5G by private telecom operators. The fiberising of all remote and rural areas with optical fibre will be implemented under the PPP model.

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Chauhan also said that the lockdown impositions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have acted as the accelerator for the boost in telecom services. Moreover, the importance of the telephone network has risen and data consumption has increased by 35 percent.