Minister of State for Communications and IT, Sachin Pilot stressed the importance of connectivity for the North East and and said that adequate mobile coverage of National and state Highways would be a priority for the government.
"Satellite connectivity would be tapped for remote and hilly regions," Pilot said while reviewing the progress of ICT schemes, BSNL and postal services in the region.
The Minister has directed the senior officials of BSNL to focus especially on quality voice and data services.
BSNL has 2635 mobile towers in the North East and 684 WLL towers for high speed broadband services in rural areas.
"An ambitious plan in this regard is under consideration of the Government in consultation with the Department of North Eastern Region," Pilot said.
He informed that BSNL plans a capital expenditure of Rs 347 crore in the North Eastern States for the current fiscal year.
Of this, Rs 92.18 crore is earmarked for Assam, Rs 33.86 crore for NE-1 Circle comprising Maghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, Rs 68.07 crore for NE-2 Circle comprising Nagaland, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh, and Rs 10 crore for Sikkim.
