Airtel to serve 2,100 N-E villages

Bharti Airtel has signed an agreement with the Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) to provide mobile services to over 2,100 unconnected villages in the Northeast.
 
The identified uncovered villages and national highways are in the states of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
 
Airtel would set up over 2,000 mobile towers/sites and deliver telecom connectivity to over 2,100 villages over the next 18 months. The deployment would also boost connectivity along important national highways in the region. Airtel would get about Rs 1,610 crore from the USOF for executing the project. Ajai Puri, chief operating officer (India & South Asia), said, “Airtel has been leading the expansion of telecom services in Northeast India and as the largest operator in these markets, we’ve gained deep understanding of the region. This project will provide a massive boost to telecom connectivity in these areas.”