BharatNet Crosses Halfway Mark: 1.16 Lakh Gram Panchayats Get FiberNet

BharatNet, the flagship programme of the Telecom Ministry to provide internet connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, has reached the halfway mark, Economic Times has reported. Close to 1.16 lakh gram panchayats have received broadband internet via optical fibre connectivity.

“As on December 2, 2018, a total of 1,21,652 GPs have been connected by laying 3,01,154 kilometres of optical fibre cable (OFC). OFC laying & equipment installation has been completed at 1,16,411 GPs, which are service ready,” the Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (12 December 2018).

The scheme aims to connect 600,000 villages with internet and it is fully funded by the central government. In addition to this, 1.5 lakh WiFi hotspots have been planned by the ministry. So far, it has succeeded in setting up 39,359 WiFi hotspots. The Centre has set a deadline of 31 March 2019 to complete the scheme’s implementation.

The project was originally conceived of by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II) government in 2011 as the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN). It was renamed as BharatNet under the current government. It is being monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) but has missed several deadlines since its launch.