20,000 villages to get broadband connectivity

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd plans to provide broadband connection  to 20,000 villages that are at present connected through optical fibre.

The operator will soon submit a proposal to the department of telecom to provide broadband connectivity for the project. According to initial estimates, the project will cost about Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion).

"The project is not commercially viable and so we have sought the government's support. We have discussed the idea and are hopeful that it will be approved," a BSNL official said.

BSNL has earmarked an investment of Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) to expand its broadband service to 1,000 more cities in the next two years. However, the proposed investment of Rs 400 crore for the project will be in addition to Rs 1,500 crore, the official added.

At present, BSNL's broadband service is available in 400 cities and towns.

Dayanidhi Maran, minister of telecom, had last week announced that the government was targeting broadband coverage for all gram panchayats, secondary and higher secondary schools and public health care centres by 2007-end.

The operator is also conducting tests to upgrade its existing broadband line by installing GWDM technology that will enable its optic fibre to carry 20 GB data in comparison to the existing 2.5 GB.

"Some telecom equipment vendors are conducting tests to prove that an upgrade is possible in our existing lines," the official added.

BSNL has also upgraded its copper wire line by installing ADSL software which will enable the existing lines to carry 20 MB of bandwidth.

Both BSNL and its subsidiary Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd are banking on the broadband connection. MTNL will soon roll out its IPTV services while BSNL is conducting trial run for Wi-Max services.