Industry News
India will use $3.5 billion for national optical fibre network project
A government statement from India said that, India has decided to establish a national optical fiber network at a cost of about $3.5 billion (200 billion ruppees) . The National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country.
The Government will set up a Special Purpose Vehicle called Bharat for implementing the Rs 20,000-crore national optical fibre cable network project. The SPV will be initially funded by the Government and then private players may be allowed to pick stake.
Bharat Broadband will lay about 500,000 kilometers of optical fiber which will enable government departments to roll out online services and applications nationally. According to an internal Government document, the network will be operational by November 2013. Public sector companies, which have optical fibre cable infrastructure, will play a crucial role in this project.
The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will carry out mapping of the present cable infrastructure and fix the project cost. All of the project cost will be met through the USO fund, which has Rs 18,000 crore and is expected to grow up to Rs 36,000 crore in three years.
