❡ We are counting every km of OFC laid under Bharatnet, because for every 10% increase in broadband penetration, India's GDP rises 3.3% ❡—Telecoms secretary.
Soaring smartphones sales have pushed internet useage in India to 355m. For example 109m units were sold in 2016 and 40m in last quarter!! Internet speeds are very poor because 4G networks have been choked with sudden influx of users. Govt is diligently building a nationwide fibre network which it says will transform the scene. Completion of Phase 1 of Bharatnet by 2017 will connect 1 lakh panchayats with speeds of 1Gbps.
Phase 2 to connect remaining 1.5 lakh panchayats was started in Nov 2017. 10 lakh km of optical cabling will be completed by Mar 2019. Target is not so daunting as ducting for 1.12 lakh panchayats has already been laid, 7 states will engage private players, a lot of cabling will be put on overhead electric poles, and radio & satellites will be used in difficult terrains. Kerala, Karnataka & Haryana has completed their networks. Large states like Maha, TN, AP, Gujarat, TG have well prepared plans.
Govt will site 2-5 Wifi hotspots in each GP. Huge number of existing Wifi will be integrated to fibre. Broadband will be sold at 25% of existing price to reduce end-user charges. No restriction will be placed on who hires fibre or provides last mile services. Maintenance agencies will get very long tenures to reduce costs. All material will be sourced indigenously.
Universal Service Obligation will fund Rs34,000 project.
▬ Rs 10,000cr : cabling laying by 7 states, incl CG & JH
▬ Rs 8,900cr : cabling laying by BSNL, PGCI
▬ Rs 6,400cr : 6 - 7 lakh Wifi
▬ Rs 3,600cr : grants for unviable wifi hotspots
▬ Rs 5,100cr : to replace inferior fibre, defence net, fibre-to-govt net
Govt has appealed to private industry for collaboration in 2nd phase and to facilitate wired connections to households. It's part of a major expansion and upgradation in next 2-3 years worth Rs130,000cr. Govt will also tackle policy bottlenecks pertaining to speed, as well as security, data privacy & protection, data regulation and data monetisation.
Soaring smartphones sales have pushed internet useage in India to 355m. For example 109m units were sold in 2016 and 40m in last quarter!! Internet speeds are very poor because 4G networks have been choked with sudden influx of users. Govt is diligently building a nationwide fibre network which it says will transform the scene. Completion of Phase 1 of Bharatnet by 2017 will connect 1 lakh panchayats with speeds of 1Gbps.
Phase 2 to connect remaining 1.5 lakh panchayats was started in Nov 2017. 10 lakh km of optical cabling will be completed by Mar 2019. Target is not so daunting as ducting for 1.12 lakh panchayats has already been laid, 7 states will engage private players, a lot of cabling will be put on overhead electric poles, and radio & satellites will be used in difficult terrains. Kerala, Karnataka & Haryana has completed their networks. Large states like Maha, TN, AP, Gujarat, TG have well prepared plans.
Govt will site 2-5 Wifi hotspots in each GP. Huge number of existing Wifi will be integrated to fibre. Broadband will be sold at 25% of existing price to reduce end-user charges. No restriction will be placed on who hires fibre or provides last mile services. Maintenance agencies will get very long tenures to reduce costs. All material will be sourced indigenously.
Universal Service Obligation will fund Rs34,000 project.
▬ Rs 10,000cr : cabling laying by 7 states, incl CG & JH
▬ Rs 8,900cr : cabling laying by BSNL, PGCI
▬ Rs 6,400cr : 6 - 7 lakh Wifi
▬ Rs 3,600cr : grants for unviable wifi hotspots
▬ Rs 5,100cr : to replace inferior fibre, defence net, fibre-to-govt net
Govt has appealed to private industry for collaboration in 2nd phase and to facilitate wired connections to households. It's part of a major expansion and upgradation in next 2-3 years worth Rs130,000cr. Govt will also tackle policy bottlenecks pertaining to speed, as well as security, data privacy & protection, data regulation and data monetisation.
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REPLY Nov 13, 2017 - Where is money being spent?
REPLY Nov 13, 2017 - Telecoms is 6.5% of GDP and is growing fast at 7%. Total employment is just 4 million. Jio has shifted voice to data platform via Voice over LTE (4G). Tariffs of data are among the cheapest, and voice rates have collapsed to $0.01/pm cost.
1. x3 fold yearly gain in new mobiles (+150m) and x1.5 internet (+80m). Useage skyrocketed. India is world's highest mobile data user at over 1000m GB.
2. Higher penetration has started to boost the digital economy -- its an opportunity for business and govt.
3. 4G is among the slowest in world. Service quality (dropped calls) has not improved satisfactorily.
4. Industry is concentrated in hands of few players. Yet stiff competition from Jio has forced incumbents to adopt cost-effective technologies and employment practices, eg. BSNL is adopting LTE tech. Others are junking lower G systems.
5. Once incumbents catch up on tech front, their profits will return and there will be a new round of investment in spectrum, quality, etc. Regulator will take a harder line in the future to improve quality.
6. As long as competition is strong, India is also well placed for the future.
REPLY Dec 21, 2017
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