Cabinet approves Rs 1.39 lakh cr for last mile BharatNet connectivity

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

cabinet has approved a last-mile broadband connectivity plan under the BharatNet project for 6.4 lakh villages across the country with a financial outlay of Rs 1.39 lakh crore, a top government official said. The broadband connectivity project has already connected 1.94 lakh villages, with the rest likely to be completed in two and a half years. “In a meeting held on Friday evening, the cabinet has approved Rs 1,39,579 crore for providing last mile optical fiber-based connectivity to homes in all villages of the country,” the official said.

The improved execution model will make use of village-level entrepreneurs, employing them as partners with full responsibility to take the connection to homes in their villages, as well as for maintenance. The local entrepreneurs will be provided with the necessary equipment, including routers and additional fiber optic cable by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), and will be given training on how to splice fiber and set up connections at homes. The entrepreneurs will be compensated under a 50% revenue sharing model, where if the household is subscribing to a Rs 399 plan, the entrepreneurs will receive Rs 199 out of it.

The official said the project has an employment potential of 2.5 lakh jobs. The official said the project was finalised after a pilot project was carried out in four districts and then expanded to 60,000 across most states within one year. “Around 3,800 entrepreneurs were involved in the pilot project that was carried out for 60,000 villages.