The Centre plans to connect as many as six lakh villages with high-speed optical fibre-based broadband over the next three years, a senior government official said on Monday. The initiative is part of the government's effort to deepen digital infrastructure and support the expansion of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) beyond metropolitan cities.
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BharatNet Phase 3
Speaking at the CII-GCC Business Summit, Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal said that BharatNet Phase 3, with an outlay of Rs 1.39 lakh crore, has begun rolling out to connect every gram panchayat—approximately 2.5 lakh in total—and their associated villages to a robust optical fibre cable (OFC) network
"Within three years, we will have all the village panchayats, which are roughly about 2.5 lakhs, plus the villages associated with them, which are roughly about 6 lakhs, will get connected to a high-speed fibre network," Mittal was quoted as saying, according to a PTI report. He noted that this infrastructure will help GCCs expand into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, enhancing their footprint beyond top urban centres.
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Optical Fibre for Mobile Towers and 6G
The initiative also includes connecting mobile towers with OFC to improve network speeds and prepare the groundwork for future 6G services. The government is working on freeing up additional spectrum to facilitate Wi-Fi proliferation and support R&D, startups, and SMEs in the telecom sector.
Lowest Data Costs and Robust Speed
Mittal reportedly said that India has a significantly lower data cost of around 9 cents per GB compared to the global average of USD 2.6, which is a very significant enabler for any GCC.
"The enablers of GCC are very well established in India. We need talent, which is very critical. We need connectivity, which is excellent. The capability to innovate, the rule of law, strong IPR protections, all these things make India a very attractive destination," he said, as quoted in the report.
He further highlighted that India's median broadband speed stands at approximately 138 Mbps and that 99.6 percent of areas hosting GCCs already have 5G coverage. Only two districts remain without 5G service, he added.
5G Footprint Almost Nationwide
"We cover 99.6 per cent of the GCC. There are only two districts in the country where there is no 5G. Recently, three companies have now these new licences fully ready to commercialise, which will connect these tier 2, tier 3 cities and people who would work for these GCCs wherever they want to," he noted.
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Single-Window Portal to Simplify Approvals
To enhance the ease of doing business, especially for international firms, the government is also developing a single-window portal for approvals related to cable landing stations.
"We are working on freeing up additional spectrum and creating R&D, SMEs and startups in these fields. We hope that with all these initiatives, the GCCs will find the digital infrastructure not to be lacking when they plan for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities," Mittal said, according to the report.
