Progress of National Broadband Mission

Progress of the National Broadband Mission is as below:-

• Broadband Connectivity to Villages –Under the BharatNet Project 1,77,550 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been made service ready till June 2022. The scope of BharatNet on 30.06.2021 has been extended upto all inhabited villages beyond GPs in the country. Timeline of the BharatNet Project is upto 2025.
• Availability of Broadband Speeds (Mbps) -Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been obtaining Crowd-sourced data about download and upload speed for different service providers through TRAI My speed App. Average download & upload speed License Service Area (LSA) wise across India for mobile broadband for 6 months (Jan 22 – June 22) is placed as Annexure-I. It is envisaged to achieve broadband speeds up to 50 Mbps by 2024-25.
• Fiberization (Lakh Kms) Cumulative – Total Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) laid is approximately 34.62 Lakh Km as on June 2022. It is envisaged to be increased up to 50 Lakh Km by 2024-25.
• Towers (in Lakhs) Cumulative – 7.23 Lakh towers have been installed up to June 2022. It is envisaged to be increased up to 15 Lakh towers by 2024-25.
• Fiberization of Telecom Towers/ Base Transceiver Station (BTS) (%) Cumulative – Approximately 35.11% of Telecom Towers/ BTSs are fiberized as on June 2022. It is envisaged to be increased up to 70% by 2024-25.
• Mapping of Fiber Cumulative –10 Lakh Route KMs of Optical Fibre Cable laid by the PSUs is mapped on the PM GatiShakti NMP Portal.

Under the BharatNet Project 19,663 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been made service ready during 2021-22. As per the information available in TRAI Performance Indicator reports 2020 and 2021, 2.49 Crore internet connections were extended by all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in rural areas in the year 2021.

On 30.06.2021, Union Cabinet has accorded in principle approval for extending BharatNet to cover all inhabited villages in the States and UTs. The revised strategy includes creation, upgradation, operation, maintenance and utilization of the BharatNet. The asset created under BharatNet can be utilised to provide Broadband Services such as Wi-Fi Hotspots, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connections, leased lines, Dark fibre, backhaul to mobile towers etc. Timeline of the BharatNet Project is upto 2025.

All Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) are encouraged to increase fiberisation of Towers/ Base Transceiver Station (BTSs) by utilising the existing fibres laid by PSUs, fibre laid under BharatNet and fibre sharing amongst TSPs.

Optical Fibre Cable Network of approximately 10 Lakh Route Kms laid by PSUs [Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharat Broadband Nigam limited (BBNL), RailTel, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), GAIL (India) Limited] and approximately 5.73 lakh telecom towers installed by Telecom Service providers (TSPs) have been mapped on the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan Platform.

Out of 104293 Wi-Fi hotspot installed under BharatNet, 53600 Wi-Fi hotspot are active at present. The work of providing broadband facility (Wi-Fi hotspots and Fibre to the Home connections) in Phase-I GPs, is implemented with funding from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). For BharatNet Phase-II, the respective Implementing Agencies are responsible for the utilisation of the created network. Regular review & monitoring of the project is done with the Implementing Agencies for expeditiously making the Wi-Fi hotspots active/operational.

CT Bureau