Where’s BharatNet! Most villages yet to get broadband connectivity

HYDERABAD: Majority of gram panchayats (GPs) across Telangana are yet to receive broadband connectivity under the Centre’s BharatNet Project, Rajya Sabha was told a few days ago. Replying to a question, Minister of State for the Ministry of Communications Manoj Sinha on Friday said that as of now gram panchayats in just seven of the State’s 31 districts are “service ready” under the project. It is important to note that Hyderabad district, being an urban area, is not considered to be covered under the project.

Currently, 648 panchayats are service ready in erstwhile Khammam, 732 in erstwhile Nizamabad and 667 in erstwhile Rangareddy. Around 6,578 gram panchayats in erstwhile Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Warangal are yet to be connected.

A similar situation prevails in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh where out of the total 12,898 gram panchayats that are to be connected under the project, only 1,227 have been connected till now.While answering the question, Manoj Sinha said: “In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Phase-I of BharatNet is being implemented through Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL). Phase-II of the BharatNet project to connect all the remaining GPs is being implemented in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh under State-led model by the respective States governments.”

As part of the project, last mile connectivity would be provided at all panchayats in State. On an average, five WiFi Access Points (APs) are being provided at each gram panchat, Sinha said adding that the selection of agency for setting up hotspots are underway.

“Of these, three Access Points are to be connected to government institutions, while two Access Points will be available for public use,” he said.In 2017, the Centre allotted the State `1,243 crore for the implementation of the phase 2. Setup by the Centre under the Telecom Ministry for the operation of National Optical Fibre Network, it promises to provide a minimum of 100 Mbps broadband connectivity.