6 yrs on, BharatNet yet to connect India

Six years after the launch of the National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats (GPs) with high speed broadband, the first phase, meant to connect 1 lakh GPs, is yet to be completed.

Kicked off by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) II on October 25, 2011, the nearly Rs 20,000-crore project was expected to be finished in two years but procedural delays along with coordination issues between the implementing agencies pushed the deadline to 2015.

Then the Narendra Modi-led government re-examined the project and renamed it BharatNet in 2015. A new deadline of December, 2016, was fixed, which was later pushed to March, 2017. Then it became December, 2017. For the second and the final phase, the deadline is March, 2019.

The delays have resulted in overruns, taking the project cost to a steep Rs 45,000 crore. The current government's 'Digital India' programme is highly dependent on BharatNet and its completion is critical to the success of various new initiatives, such as e-health, telemedicine, e-education, and others.

There is some solace for the government as private players have come forward to provide last-mile connectivity, after the bandwidth prices were brought down by 75 per cent. The government has also decided to give subsidy to companies for setting up WiFi hotspots. Even the state governments have agreed to participate and have come up with their own model of implementing BharatNet.

The aim is to offer a speed of 100 Mbps, but the issues related to last-mile connectivity have plaqued the actual progress. The fiber has reached the GP level but the internet is not live. Besides, there have been locations where fiber needs to be replaced as it was installed much earlier.

Urban areas have had Internet connectivity because of mobile phone revolution, and lately, because of 4G data services. But rural areas are mainly connected by feature phones, which do not have Internet access. Nearly 70 per cent of mobile users have feature phones with limited Internet access, which is why BharatNet becomes important.

Last week, telecom minister Manoj Sinha had said: "When it was launched previously, it was actually no fun for any one. Little or no progress had been made. By December this year, one lakh gram panchayats will be ready to offer services. More than 85,000 are service-ready and 75,000 can start providing services to villages."

BharatNet won't be a medium to generate money. It is not a business but a medium for broadband penetration under the PM's Digital India initiative, the minister added.

Nearly Rs 4.5 lakh crore value can be added to the national gross domestic product upon the completion of BharatNet Phase II as a study has suggested that every 10 per cent usage of Internet in India drives GDP up by 3.3 per cent.