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In a major initiative to provide telecom services to rural people using Wireless in Local Loop technology, the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Tuesday, launched 'Grameen Sanchar Sewak' project.
"I wish the project succeeds so that it can be expanded further," Vajpayee said while launching the project in New Delhi.
The project, has been conceptualised to provide accessibility of public telephone to rural population at their doorsteps by using WLL technology.
The scheme would be implemented through the Grameen Dak Sewaks Delivery agents of the Department of Posts. These agents would work as the franchisees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
For this pilot scheme, the existing rural WLL infrastructure would be used and the Grameen Dak Sewak who will be now called Grameen Sanchar Sewak will be provided a
Fixed Wireless Telephone with display facility. The pilot project will cost up to Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million).
When the Grameen Sanchar Sewak goes to a house to deliver a letter, he will carry the Fixed Wireless Telephone with him. Since the Sewak reaches practically every house, the scheme will enable the phone services to be made available practically to all the residents of the area.
In the initial phase, this pilot project would cover about 8000 villages in 21 telecom circles covering all the states except Andaman and Nicobar, Haryana and Punjab and 1800 Grameen Dak Sewaks would be used for this purpose.
The Dak Sewaks would be getting 20 per cent of the value of calls made and five per cent would be given to DoP.