BSNL to take 4G in every village of the country within a year

Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman has said that state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is working on the government’s 4G saturation program where every village which does not have the high-speed broadband connection will be provided with one within the next year or so.

4G connectivity is also being complimented by the Bharat Net program, which looks into laying an optic fiber network in rural areas. The DoT is in the planning process to bring the Bharatnet network to all 6 lakh villages in India.

K Rajaraman said, “The Bharat Net program has enabled us to reach nearly 1.9 lakh villages and the target is to reach 2.2 lakh villages by the middle of next year.” BSNL has already awarded a lot of contracts for passive infrastructure, while it’s in the process of finalising the contracts for active infrastructure.

The secretary further said there are at least four cuts per 1000 kms every month in the fiber network due to construction activities, laying water and gas pipelines. To reduce such cuts, the government is initiating a policy intervention in a few states where excavating people will have to inform the owners of the fiber network, to provide an opportunity for both parties to work together and to reduce damages in telecom infrastructure.