Over 1.04 lakh gram panchayats have been made "service ready" for providing broadband connectivity as on March 11 under Bharat Net project, Parliament was informed today.
Bharat Net project aims at providing broadband connectivity to all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats (GPs) in the country in a phased manner.
The first phase, which was to connect one lakh GPs, has already been completed.
"As on March 11, 2018, 1,04,548 GPs have been made service ready for providing broadband connectivity by laying 2,67,394 km Optical Fibre Cable," Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
Bharat Broadband Network Ltd (BBNL) was set up as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to create, manage and operate the Bharat Net infrastructure.
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For the first phase, BSNL has been entrusted with the task of maintaining the network for those states where implementation has been done by the telecom PSU. For this, a revenue sharing pact has been signed between BBNL and BSNL.
For the remaining states, maintenance model has been worked out, as per their specific conditions.
"For the network to be built in Bharat Net Phase-II, according to the Cabinet approval, the implementing agencies are to be responsible for maintenance of the network," the minister added.
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