Bharat Net project to link 2.5 lakh gram panchayats

New Delhi March 15 (IANS) Communications Minister Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said the government will finish the task of connecting around 2.5 lakh gram panchayats through high speed broadband under its Bharat Net Project by the end of 2018.

Phase-I to connect 100 000 gram panchayats is scheduled to be completed by March 2017. The connectivity to all the gram panchayats is to be provided by December 2018 the minister said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

BharatNet project is being implemented with the objective of creating network infrastructure for providing broadband connectivity of 100 Mbps to all gram panchayats (approximately 250 000) in the country.

Bharat Broadband Network Ltd (BBNL) is the special purpose vehicle (SPV) to implement operate and manage the project.

The phase-I to connect 100 000 gram panchayats by laying underground optical fibre cable is being implemented through three central public sector undertakings - BSNL RailTel and PGCIL.

--IANS
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