Envisaging a greater role for broadband connectivity in rural areas, Puducherry joined other States and Union Territories in the country with the roll-out of the National Optical Fibre Network project here last week.
The NOFN project, a joint effort between the Centre and the State, aims to deliver high-speed broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in India through optical fibre cables.
The NOFN project is part of the ambitious Digital India Programme that aims to usher in e-governance on a massive scale.
“The beneficiaries of the communication revolution have been mostly in the urban areas and it has not yet reached the rural areas. The government has planned this project to bridge this gap. The Puducherry project can be a role model for the country to follow,” said Shailendra Goel, executive director, Southern region, RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RCIL), at the launch of the project held at Sulthanpet, Villianur.
The NOFN project for the Union Territory of Puducherry is being executed by the RCIL in Puducherry and Karaikal districts, with plans to lay 89 km of cable.
The existing network of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited cable of around 180 km will be used. A total of 98 gram panchayats in three blocks (Villianur, Ariyankuppam and Karaikal) will be covered under the project at a cost of around Rs. 4 crore.
Bandwidth is to be provided to any telecom service provider which can be further sold to the customers. The Puducherry project contract has been awarded to SLN Enterprises Neyveli and H R Infratel Private Hyderabad, and is expected to be completed early next year.
“Gram panchayats will connect the common man to different government services, including tele-medicine. The NOFN project will provide unlimited capacity of bandwidth,” said Shanmugasundaram, Chief General Manager, Bharat Broadband Network Limited.
Right of WayOn its part, the Puducherry government has issued a government order on Right of Way (RoW). Further connectivity from gram panchayats to educational institutions, health centres and other government centres will be planned by the Puducherry government.
“The NOFN project will reduce the need to travel. It will provide up-to-date information for the public, including farmers who can get information about prices in the open market,” said K.P. Caliaperoumal, Deputy Director, Local Administration Department.
Radhika Ravendran, Deputy General Manager, BSNL, asked for the cooperation of the stakeholders and the public in the implementation of the project. Also present were S. Selvadurai, General Manager and R. Baskaran, Group General Manager of RailTel.
