Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::index() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 151
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

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        LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Govt&#039;s ambitious broadband internet plan misses deadline-Sounak Mitra    </title>
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-The Business Standard



The National Optic Fibre Network project aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre


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The National Optic Fibre Network project aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre


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                            <div align="justify">-The Business Standard</div><p align="justify"><br /><em>The National Optic Fibre Network project aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre</em></p><p align="justify">The government is likely to miss the deadline for its dream project - National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre for offering 100 megabit per second (mbps) broadband services.</p><p align="justify">The much-talked-about NOFN project, which was initiated in 2011 with the approval of the Union Cabinet, was to be completed within two years from the Cabinet approval. Surely, it was not achievable, and the Government had later said that the overlaying of optic fibre will be completed by March 31, 2016. The total cost of the NOFN project is estimated to be Rs 20,000 crore, which is to be funded from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).</p><p align="justify">According to data available with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), at the end of October 30, 2013, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), PGCIL and Railtel, which were entrusted the job of laying optic fibre network on behalf of Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), the special purpose vehicle which is responsible for executing the entire project, were able to float just a few notice inviting tenders in some villages. However, tenders for data centres are expected to be floated by November 30.</p><p align="justify">DoT has projected that work across 10,000 gram panchayats would be completed by December 31, 2013, while the first one lakh gram panchayats will be completed by March 31, 2014.</p><p align="justify">&quot;The timeframe projected is most unlikely to be met. The laying work of optic fibre has not even started yet,&quot; said an official with BBNL, seeking anonymity. The official added that BBNL's internal assessment estimated that it will take atleast five years from now to complete the laying of optic fibre network. BBNL did not respond officially.</p><p align="justify">According to DoT projections, the next one lakh gram panchayats will be covered by March 2015. The remaining 50,000 gram panchyats will be covered by NOFN by December 31, 2015, while completion of the overlaying project is targeted by March 31, 2016.</p><p align="justify">The objective of the NOFN project is to offer e-governance services and utility bill payment, etc for the rural people.</p><p align="justify">However, experts say that the NOFN project does not include service offering. It is just about laying of the optic fibres. For the end-to-end services, service providers will have to set up their own infrastructure at the gram panchayat level. &quot;While the initial cost was projected at Rs 20,000 crore for the NOFN project, private companies will need to pump in much more than this amount to offer services to the end customers. This may not be a commercially viable proposition, considering the fact that these would be low revenue markets,&quot; said an analyst with a management consulting firm.</p><p align="justify">In July 2012, communications and IT minister Kapil Sibal had also made a similar statement: &quot;The cost of the initial phase of the NOFN scheme is likely to be in the region of '20,000 crore. Similar amount of investment is likely to be made by private sector complementing the NOFN infrastructure while providing services to individual users.&quot; So, the actual cost of the NOFN project is upwards of Rs 40,000 crore, and the entire project is actually funded by the private telecom operators, considering the fact that USOF is built by taking five per cent of the operators' revenue.</p><p align="justify">There's more. Once the laying the optic fibre network is completed, private operators will have to set up access network and most of them may require leasing of bandwidth from BSNL. &quot;This may be helpful for the state-owned telco, but private operators may not jump immediately to offer services in the remote villages, as these would be very low revenue markets,&quot; said a top executive of a telecom operator.</p><p align="justify">&quot;Probably, the entire project is not at all well thought out,&quot; said an ex-CEO of a telecom service provider, pointing out that the Government should have calculated the return-on-investment (RoI) before finalising the project.</p><p align="justify">But, Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which lobbies for GSM telecom service providers, believes: &quot;NOFN may seem to be not viable at this moment. But, this is the only way to offer broadband connectivity to the gram panchayat level. And this is a must to ensure the growth story,&quot; In any case, the Government is sitting on about 70 per cent of its total USOF collection so far. &quot;Using the money for NOFN makes more sense than keeping the USOF collection unutilised which is actually contribution of the private operators,&quot; added Mathews.</p><p align="justify">Interestingly, about 10 lakh kms of optic fibre cable are there across the country (not in rural areas). It took about 15 years to cover about 7 lakh kms of the total network. This means, the Government can put about 46,000 kms of optic fibre in a year. And, according to projections, the Government will require laying more than 5 lakh kms of optic fibre for the NOFN project. &quot;Even if the work would be faster in rural areas, the projected timeline for the project is unrealistic,&quot; said an executive of a company that wanted to bid for the project.</p><p align="justify">Also, supply may be an issue. According to reports, India gets about 80,000 kms of optic fibre annually. So, it would take more than six years to get the required length of optic fibre that the Government would need for the NOFN project.</p><p align="justify">On the other hand, telecom analysts say that that while BSNL has the largest presence in the rural areas, it has always failed to execute projects on time. &quot;And, a project of such a large scale, there is very little possibility that it would be completed on time,&quot; added a senior telecom analyst with a global research firm.</p><p align="justify">On another thought, is there a need for a 100mbps network? The demand in these areas may be less than one per cent of 100 mbps, an analyst said, adding that while the Government and the service providers have failed to ensure faster connectivity even in the metro and urban areas while there is consumption of data, there is no need for this infrastructure for faster network. &quot;This may not be useful now. But, we are getting ready for the future,&quot; said an executive of a telco.</p>                                                           
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    <br><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-s-ambitious-broadband-internet-plan-misses-deadline-113112600559_1.html" class="re" target="_blank">The Business Standard, 26 November, 2013, http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-s-ambitious-broadband-internet-plan-misses-deadline-113112600559_1.html</a><div class="clear"></div>
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    <h1 class="cat-box-title">Govt&#039;s ambitious broadband internet plan misses deadline-Sounak Mitra</h1>
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                            <div align="justify">-The Business Standard</div><p align="justify"><br /><em>The National Optic Fibre Network project aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre</em></p><p align="justify">The government is likely to miss the deadline for its dream project - National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre for offering 100 megabit per second (mbps) broadband services.</p><p align="justify">The much-talked-about NOFN project, which was initiated in 2011 with the approval of the Union Cabinet, was to be completed within two years from the Cabinet approval. Surely, it was not achievable, and the Government had later said that the overlaying of optic fibre will be completed by March 31, 2016. The total cost of the NOFN project is estimated to be Rs 20,000 crore, which is to be funded from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).</p><p align="justify">According to data available with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), at the end of October 30, 2013, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), PGCIL and Railtel, which were entrusted the job of laying optic fibre network on behalf of Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), the special purpose vehicle which is responsible for executing the entire project, were able to float just a few notice inviting tenders in some villages. However, tenders for data centres are expected to be floated by November 30.</p><p align="justify">DoT has projected that work across 10,000 gram panchayats would be completed by December 31, 2013, while the first one lakh gram panchayats will be completed by March 31, 2014.</p><p align="justify">&quot;The timeframe projected is most unlikely to be met. The laying work of optic fibre has not even started yet,&quot; said an official with BBNL, seeking anonymity. The official added that BBNL's internal assessment estimated that it will take atleast five years from now to complete the laying of optic fibre network. BBNL did not respond officially.</p><p align="justify">According to DoT projections, the next one lakh gram panchayats will be covered by March 2015. The remaining 50,000 gram panchyats will be covered by NOFN by December 31, 2015, while completion of the overlaying project is targeted by March 31, 2016.</p><p align="justify">The objective of the NOFN project is to offer e-governance services and utility bill payment, etc for the rural people.</p><p align="justify">However, experts say that the NOFN project does not include service offering. It is just about laying of the optic fibres. For the end-to-end services, service providers will have to set up their own infrastructure at the gram panchayat level. &quot;While the initial cost was projected at Rs 20,000 crore for the NOFN project, private companies will need to pump in much more than this amount to offer services to the end customers. This may not be a commercially viable proposition, considering the fact that these would be low revenue markets,&quot; said an analyst with a management consulting firm.</p><p align="justify">In July 2012, communications and IT minister Kapil Sibal had also made a similar statement: &quot;The cost of the initial phase of the NOFN scheme is likely to be in the region of '20,000 crore. Similar amount of investment is likely to be made by private sector complementing the NOFN infrastructure while providing services to individual users.&quot; So, the actual cost of the NOFN project is upwards of Rs 40,000 crore, and the entire project is actually funded by the private telecom operators, considering the fact that USOF is built by taking five per cent of the operators' revenue.</p><p align="justify">There's more. Once the laying the optic fibre network is completed, private operators will have to set up access network and most of them may require leasing of bandwidth from BSNL. &quot;This may be helpful for the state-owned telco, but private operators may not jump immediately to offer services in the remote villages, as these would be very low revenue markets,&quot; said a top executive of a telecom operator.</p><p align="justify">&quot;Probably, the entire project is not at all well thought out,&quot; said an ex-CEO of a telecom service provider, pointing out that the Government should have calculated the return-on-investment (RoI) before finalising the project.</p><p align="justify">But, Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which lobbies for GSM telecom service providers, believes: &quot;NOFN may seem to be not viable at this moment. But, this is the only way to offer broadband connectivity to the gram panchayat level. And this is a must to ensure the growth story,&quot; In any case, the Government is sitting on about 70 per cent of its total USOF collection so far. &quot;Using the money for NOFN makes more sense than keeping the USOF collection unutilised which is actually contribution of the private operators,&quot; added Mathews.</p><p align="justify">Interestingly, about 10 lakh kms of optic fibre cable are there across the country (not in rural areas). It took about 15 years to cover about 7 lakh kms of the total network. This means, the Government can put about 46,000 kms of optic fibre in a year. And, according to projections, the Government will require laying more than 5 lakh kms of optic fibre for the NOFN project. &quot;Even if the work would be faster in rural areas, the projected timeline for the project is unrealistic,&quot; said an executive of a company that wanted to bid for the project.</p><p align="justify">Also, supply may be an issue. According to reports, India gets about 80,000 kms of optic fibre annually. So, it would take more than six years to get the required length of optic fibre that the Government would need for the NOFN project.</p><p align="justify">On the other hand, telecom analysts say that that while BSNL has the largest presence in the rural areas, it has always failed to execute projects on time. &quot;And, a project of such a large scale, there is very little possibility that it would be completed on time,&quot; added a senior telecom analyst with a global research firm.</p><p align="justify">On another thought, is there a need for a 100mbps network? The demand in these areas may be less than one per cent of 100 mbps, an analyst said, adding that while the Government and the service providers have failed to ensure faster connectivity even in the metro and urban areas while there is consumption of data, there is no need for this infrastructure for faster network. &quot;This may not be useful now. But, we are getting ready for the future,&quot; said an executive of a telco.</p>                                                           
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    <br><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-s-ambitious-broadband-internet-plan-misses-deadline-113112600559_1.html" class="re" target="_blank">The Business Standard, 26 November, 2013, http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-s-ambitious-broadband-internet-plan-misses-deadline-113112600559_1.html</a><div class="clear"></div>
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}
$reasonPhrase = 'OK'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitStatusLine() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 54
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
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Code Context
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    <h1 class="cat-box-title">Govt&#039;s ambitious broadband internet plan misses deadline-Sounak Mitra</h1>
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                            <div align="justify">-The Business Standard</div><p align="justify"><br /><em>The National Optic Fibre Network project aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre</em></p><p align="justify">The government is likely to miss the deadline for its dream project - National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre for offering 100 megabit per second (mbps) broadband services.</p><p align="justify">The much-talked-about NOFN project, which was initiated in 2011 with the approval of the Union Cabinet, was to be completed within two years from the Cabinet approval. Surely, it was not achievable, and the Government had later said that the overlaying of optic fibre will be completed by March 31, 2016. The total cost of the NOFN project is estimated to be Rs 20,000 crore, which is to be funded from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).</p><p align="justify">According to data available with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), at the end of October 30, 2013, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), PGCIL and Railtel, which were entrusted the job of laying optic fibre network on behalf of Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), the special purpose vehicle which is responsible for executing the entire project, were able to float just a few notice inviting tenders in some villages. However, tenders for data centres are expected to be floated by November 30.</p><p align="justify">DoT has projected that work across 10,000 gram panchayats would be completed by December 31, 2013, while the first one lakh gram panchayats will be completed by March 31, 2014.</p><p align="justify">&quot;The timeframe projected is most unlikely to be met. The laying work of optic fibre has not even started yet,&quot; said an official with BBNL, seeking anonymity. The official added that BBNL's internal assessment estimated that it will take atleast five years from now to complete the laying of optic fibre network. BBNL did not respond officially.</p><p align="justify">According to DoT projections, the next one lakh gram panchayats will be covered by March 2015. The remaining 50,000 gram panchyats will be covered by NOFN by December 31, 2015, while completion of the overlaying project is targeted by March 31, 2016.</p><p align="justify">The objective of the NOFN project is to offer e-governance services and utility bill payment, etc for the rural people.</p><p align="justify">However, experts say that the NOFN project does not include service offering. It is just about laying of the optic fibres. For the end-to-end services, service providers will have to set up their own infrastructure at the gram panchayat level. &quot;While the initial cost was projected at Rs 20,000 crore for the NOFN project, private companies will need to pump in much more than this amount to offer services to the end customers. This may not be a commercially viable proposition, considering the fact that these would be low revenue markets,&quot; said an analyst with a management consulting firm.</p><p align="justify">In July 2012, communications and IT minister Kapil Sibal had also made a similar statement: &quot;The cost of the initial phase of the NOFN scheme is likely to be in the region of '20,000 crore. Similar amount of investment is likely to be made by private sector complementing the NOFN infrastructure while providing services to individual users.&quot; So, the actual cost of the NOFN project is upwards of Rs 40,000 crore, and the entire project is actually funded by the private telecom operators, considering the fact that USOF is built by taking five per cent of the operators' revenue.</p><p align="justify">There's more. Once the laying the optic fibre network is completed, private operators will have to set up access network and most of them may require leasing of bandwidth from BSNL. &quot;This may be helpful for the state-owned telco, but private operators may not jump immediately to offer services in the remote villages, as these would be very low revenue markets,&quot; said a top executive of a telecom operator.</p><p align="justify">&quot;Probably, the entire project is not at all well thought out,&quot; said an ex-CEO of a telecom service provider, pointing out that the Government should have calculated the return-on-investment (RoI) before finalising the project.</p><p align="justify">But, Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which lobbies for GSM telecom service providers, believes: &quot;NOFN may seem to be not viable at this moment. But, this is the only way to offer broadband connectivity to the gram panchayat level. And this is a must to ensure the growth story,&quot; In any case, the Government is sitting on about 70 per cent of its total USOF collection so far. &quot;Using the money for NOFN makes more sense than keeping the USOF collection unutilised which is actually contribution of the private operators,&quot; added Mathews.</p><p align="justify">Interestingly, about 10 lakh kms of optic fibre cable are there across the country (not in rural areas). It took about 15 years to cover about 7 lakh kms of the total network. This means, the Government can put about 46,000 kms of optic fibre in a year. And, according to projections, the Government will require laying more than 5 lakh kms of optic fibre for the NOFN project. &quot;Even if the work would be faster in rural areas, the projected timeline for the project is unrealistic,&quot; said an executive of a company that wanted to bid for the project.</p><p align="justify">Also, supply may be an issue. According to reports, India gets about 80,000 kms of optic fibre annually. So, it would take more than six years to get the required length of optic fibre that the Government would need for the NOFN project.</p><p align="justify">On the other hand, telecom analysts say that that while BSNL has the largest presence in the rural areas, it has always failed to execute projects on time. &quot;And, a project of such a large scale, there is very little possibility that it would be completed on time,&quot; added a senior telecom analyst with a global research firm.</p><p align="justify">On another thought, is there a need for a 100mbps network? The demand in these areas may be less than one per cent of 100 mbps, an analyst said, adding that while the Government and the service providers have failed to ensure faster connectivity even in the metro and urban areas while there is consumption of data, there is no need for this infrastructure for faster network. &quot;This may not be useful now. But, we are getting ready for the future,&quot; said an executive of a telco.</p>                                                           
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    <br><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-s-ambitious-broadband-internet-plan-misses-deadline-113112600559_1.html" class="re" target="_blank">The Business Standard, 26 November, 2013, http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-s-ambitious-broadband-internet-plan-misses-deadline-113112600559_1.html</a><div class="clear"></div>
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Home हिन्दी

Govt's ambitious broadband internet plan misses deadline-Sounak Mitra

Published on Nov 26, 2013   Modified on Nov 26, 2013

-The Business Standard The National Optic Fibre Network project aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre The government is likely to miss the deadline for its dream project - National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre for offering 100 megabit per second (mbps) broadband services. The much-talked-about NOFN project, which was initiated in 2011 with the approval of the Union Cabinet, was to be completed within two years from the Cabinet approval. Surely, it was not achievable, and the Government had later said that the overlaying of optic fibre will be completed by March 31, 2016. The total cost of the NOFN project is estimated to be Rs 20,000 crore, which is to be funded from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). According to data available with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), at the end of October 30, 2013, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), PGCIL and Railtel, which were entrusted the job of laying optic fibre network on behalf of Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), the special purpose vehicle which is responsible for executing the entire project, were able to float just a few notice inviting tenders in some villages. However, tenders for data centres are expected to be floated by November 30. DoT has projected that work across 10,000 gram panchayats would be completed by December 31, 2013, while the first one lakh gram panchayats will be completed by March 31, 2014. "The timeframe projected is most unlikely to be met. The laying work of optic fibre has not even started yet," said an official with BBNL, seeking anonymity. The official added that BBNL's internal assessment estimated that it will take atleast five years from now to complete the laying of optic fibre network. BBNL did not respond officially. According to DoT projections, the next one lakh gram panchayats will be covered by March 2015. The remaining 50,000 gram panchyats will be covered by NOFN by December 31, 2015, while completion of the overlaying project is targeted by March 31, 2016. The objective of the NOFN project is to offer e-governance services and utility bill payment, etc for the rural people. However, experts say that the NOFN project does not include service offering. It is just about laying of the optic fibres. For the end-to-end services, service providers will have to set up their own infrastructure at the gram panchayat level. "While the initial cost was projected at Rs 20,000 crore for the NOFN project, private companies will need to pump in much more than this amount to offer services to the end customers. This may not be a commercially viable proposition, considering the fact that these would be low revenue markets," said an analyst with a management consulting firm. In July 2012, communications and IT minister Kapil Sibal had also made a similar statement: "The cost of the initial phase of the NOFN scheme is likely to be in the region of '20,000 crore. Similar amount of investment is likely to be made by private sector complementing the NOFN infrastructure while providing services to individual users." So, the actual cost of the NOFN project is upwards of Rs 40,000 crore, and the entire project is actually funded by the private telecom operators, considering the fact that USOF is built by taking five per cent of the operators' revenue. There's more. Once the laying the optic fibre network is completed, private operators will have to set up access network and most of them may require leasing of bandwidth from BSNL. "This may be helpful for the state-owned telco, but private operators may not jump immediately to offer services in the remote villages, as these would be very low revenue markets," said a top executive of a telecom operator. "Probably, the entire project is not at all well thought out," said an ex-CEO of a telecom service provider, pointing out that the Government should have calculated the return-on-investment (RoI) before finalising the project. But, Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which lobbies for GSM telecom service providers, believes: "NOFN may seem to be not viable at this moment. But, this is the only way to offer broadband connectivity to the gram panchayat level. And this is a must to ensure the growth story," In any case, the Government is sitting on about 70 per cent of its total USOF collection so far. "Using the money for NOFN makes more sense than keeping the USOF collection unutilised which is actually contribution of the private operators," added Mathews. Interestingly, about 10 lakh kms of optic fibre cable are there across the country (not in rural areas). It took about 15 years to cover about 7 lakh kms of the total network. This means, the Government can put about 46,000 kms of optic fibre in a year. And, according to projections, the Government will require laying more than 5 lakh kms of optic fibre for the NOFN project. "Even if the work would be faster in rural areas, the projected timeline for the project is unrealistic," said an executive of a company that wanted to bid for the project. Also, supply may be an issue. According to reports, India gets about 80,000 kms of optic fibre annually. So, it would take more than six years to get the required length of optic fibre that the Government would need for the NOFN project. On the other hand, telecom analysts say that that while BSNL has the largest presence in the rural areas, it has always failed to execute projects on time. "And, a project of such a large scale, there is very little possibility that it would be completed on time," added a senior telecom analyst with a global research firm. On another thought, is there a need for a 100mbps network? The demand in these areas may be less than one per cent of 100 mbps, an analyst said, adding that while the Government and the service providers have failed to ensure faster connectivity even in the metro and urban areas while there is consumption of data, there is no need for this infrastructure for faster network. "This may not be useful now. But, we are getting ready for the future," said an executive of a telco.

The Business Standard, 26 November, 2013, http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-s-ambitious-broadband-internet-plan-misses-deadline-113112600559_1.html

Tagged with: Broadband internet Digital Divide ICTs

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