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BSNL has ambitious broadband expansion plans

Indiantelevision.com Team

(16 March 2010 6:10 pm)

NEW DELHI: The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is expected to provide 8,88,832 wire-line Broadband connections to individual users and Government Institutions and set up 28,672 Kiosks by 2014, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed last year with the Universal Service Obligation Fund.

The subsidy disbursement is for broadband connections, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), Computer/Computing devices; and setting up of Kiosks for public access to broadband services. The estimated subsidy outflow is Rs. 15 billion in 5 years time that includes subsidy for 900,000 broadband connections, CPEs, computers/computing devices and kiosks.

As on 31 January 2010, 106070 broadband connections have been provided and four kiosks have been set up in the rural and remote areas.

Parliament was informed that the Government has taken various measures to provide telecom facilities in rural areas of the country. As a result, the rural teledensity has become 21.19 per cent as on December 2009 against the target of 4 per cent teledensity in rural areas by 2010.

The Indian Telegraph Rules have been amended, and stream IV has been added under the title “Provision of broadband connectivity to villages in a phased manner” to bring provisioning of broadband connectivity to the rural areas under the purview of the USOF.