Bharatnet Project
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has
proposed not to monetise rural broadband network
infrastructure built under the Bharatnet project. It plans to replace it with alternative assets to achieve the target
fixed under the National Monetisation Pipeline. Bharatnet Project is the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity
programme using Optical fibre. It is implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd.
(BBNL) which is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up by
the Government of India under the Companies Act, 1956 with
an authorised capital of Rs 1000 crore. National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) which was launched in 2011 was renamed as Bharat Net Project
in 2015. NOFN was envisaged as an information superhighway through the creation of a robust middle-mile
infrastructure for reaching broadband connectivity to Gram Panchayats. Bharatnet is a highly scalable network infrastructure accessible on a non-discriminatory basis, to provide
on demand, affordable broadband conne…
