Why in News?

• The Union Cabinet has approved an outlay of Rs 1.39 lakh crore for BharatNet, the government’s project for last-mile connectivity across 6.4 lakh villages in the country.                         

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About BharatNet Project (Features, Benefits, Budget, Implementation, Challenges, etc.)
• News Summary 

About BharatNet Project:

• Bharat Net is the world's largest optical fiber-based rural broadband connectivity project.
• It is executed by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), a special purpose organisation under the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.
• It is an ambitious rural internet access programme - an initiative by the Union government under its Digital India

Features & Benefits of BharatNet:

• Using optical fibre, the programme is intended to bring broadband internet connectivity to each of the more than 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country.
• The government intends to provide a minimum of 100 Mbps bandwidth at each Gram Panchayat so that everyone, especially those in rural India, can access e-services offered by various Central and State Government agencies.
  • This covers services such as e-governance, e-learning, e-banking, e-commerce, and e-health.
• As part of BharatNet project, the Centre will also provide last mile connectivity through Wi-Fi and other means and is setting up Wi-Fi hotspots in all gram panchayats.
• The penetration and proliferation of broadband is also expected to increase direct and indirect employment and income generation.
• Under the BharatNet project, the home broadband package will start from Rs 399 a month, giving 30 Mbps unlimited data, bundled with OTT offering, etc.
• In 2016, the DoT approved to implement the project in three phases.

Budget:

• The total budget allocation for the BharatNet project is Rs. 61,000 crore.
• Funds for the BharatNet project are allocated as a whole and not state/Union Territory-wise.
• A lump sum amount is allocated and disbursed from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) to BBNL for execution of BharatNet project.
  • USOF is name for the levies collected by the Centre from telecom companies with a view to ensuring funding and development of communication services in rural and underserved areas.

Phases of Implementation:

• Phase-I:
  • 1,00,000 GPs to be covered - under implementation.
  • Being executed by 3 CPSUs viz. BSNL, RailTel and PGCIL.
  • Targeted to be completed by March 2017.
• Phase-II:
  • Balance GPs using optical mix of underground/aerial OFC, radio and satellite to be used.
  • To be executed by 3 CPSUs and State Govts. through their Discoms or any other agency.
  • Targeted to be completed by December 2018.
• Phase-III:
  • Futuristic network with ring topology to be used between districts and blocks and blocks and GPs.
  • Targeted to be completed by 2023.

 Progress So Far:

• The initial scope of the project was to cover 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country with optical fiber by August 2021.
  • However, that deadline was missed.
• Around 1.94 lakh villages have been connected at present and rest of the villages are expected to be connected in the next 2.5 years.
• The project progress was affected due to lockdown and movement restrictions due to COVID pandemic.
• In the Union Budget 2022-23, the Government extended the project deadline to 2025.

Challenges Associated with BharatNet Project:

• Slow Pace of Implementation:
  • The pace of BharatNet has been slow given that the government has been able to make just 194,000 gram panchayats service ready so far.
  • From November 2022 till March this year, about 6,000 gram panchayats have been made service ready.
• PPP Mode of Implementationis yet to take off:
  • The first request for proposal (RFP) for implementation of the project, which was floated in July 2021, failed to get any response from private companies.
  • The industry had highlighted that some of the terms and conditions of the tender were too onerous for the private players while the revenue sharing model proposed by the government was also unfavourable to them.
  • The Government will come out with a revised PPP model for BharatNet project in a couple of months.

News Summary:

• The Union Cabinet approved an additional Rs 1.39 lakh crore for modernising the BharatNet project which involves changing its execution strategy and providing fiber connections to the last mile through Village Level Entrepreneurs.
• With this upgrade, the government is looking to speed up its process in connecting all the remaining villages over the next 2.5 years.
• The Government, under the PPP model, will involve village level entrepreneurs or Udyamis to take the fiber connections to the homes on a 50:50 revenue-sharing basis.
• The cost for taking the infrastructure to the home will be borne by the government.
• The rural entrepreneur will only need to be involved in maintenance and operations of home connections, including addressing consumer complaints related to fiber cuts, etc.