India to invest US $100 bn in National Broadband Mission by 2024 |
Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday launched the National Broadband Mission that aims at securing universal broadband access to fast track growth of digital communication infrastructure across the country. The Mission entails stakeholder investment of 98.4 billion dollars in the coming years. The Minister said that National Broadband Mission will help in providing broadband access to all villages in the country by 2022 and its aim is to implement 50 MB per second internet in a phased manner. The vision of the NBM is to fast track growth of digital communications infrastructure, bridge the digital divide, facilitate digital empowerment and inclusion and provide affordable and universal access of broadband for all. The mission, which is a part of the National Digital Communications Policy, 2018, is also aimed at increasing the number of towers from 560,000 to 1 million. The objective of the mission is to facilitate universal and equitable access to broadband services across the country and especially in rural and remote areas, along with laying of incremental 30 lakhs km route of Optical Fiber Cable and increase in tower density from 0.42 to 1.0 tower per thousand of the population by 2024. The release also mentioned that the mission will entail an investment from stakeholders of 100 billion dollars including 1 million dollar from Universal Service Obligation Fund.
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