Mobile connectivity: BSNL plan for uncovered areas promises savings of Rs 6,000 cr

Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan has directed the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) to prepare a new project report based on the BSNL’s proposal for providing mobile connectivity in uncovered villages by setting up telecom towers in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas and Meghalaya.

BSNL had made a proposal to the DoT that it could set up telecom towers and provide mobile connectivity in both these regions at half the cost compared to what the DoT’s own plan would have entailed. The operator has said its cost is around Rs 78.23 lakh per tower as against the DoT’s finalised cost of Rs 1.8 crore per tower, resulting in total savings of Rs 6,000 crore for the government.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has cleared projects for setting up 4,072 telecom towers in LWE-affected areas at a cost of around Rs 7,330 crore and a comprehensive telecom development plan for Meghalaya at a cost of Rs 3,911 crore. Both the projects were approved by the Cabinet in May. The technology to be used is 2G and 4G. The USOF is the funding agency.

“Telecom secretary has now directed USOF to prepare a new detailed project report (DPR) for LWE and Meghalaya projects on the basis of revised lower estimates presented by BSNL, as they would bring down the total project cost to less than half and the government will save more than Rs 6,000 crore,” a senior government official explained.

The DoT will provide mobile connectivity in LWE-affected areas in 96 districts across 10 states. The second generation (2G) and 4G technology will be deployed in this second phase of the project. In the first phase, around 2,355 telecom towers providing mobile services using the 2G technology were set up at a cost of Rs 4,080 crore.

Under the comprehensive Northeast Development Plan, the government aims to provide mobile connectivity in around 8,621 villages and along national highways spread across the seven hill states through 7,000 telecom towers.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)