Representative image. (Website/PSP DataComms)In a big push for the digital and connected India ambitions, the Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) has invited bids for Rs 19,041 crore BharatNet project to roll out high-speed broadband services in the rural areas across 16 states, reports Livemint.
BBNL has invited the bids through a global tender that would involve the development (creation, upgradation, operation and maintenance and utilisation) of BharatNet through a public-private partnership (PPP) model in nine separate packages across the 16 States with a concession period of 30 years.
The project will cover as many as 3.61 lakh villages and Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
It should be noted that the existing BharaNet was connecting all the GPs of the country by laying OFC (primarily) between Block and GPs. The same is now set for a major overhaul as the scope of BharatNet has been enhanced to connect all the inhabited villages of the country. Upon completion, the existing BharatNet network will become a part of this project.
The last date for submission of bids for the tender is 24 August.
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