The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has urged the government to review the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) programme and take corrective steps for encouraging greater private participation in the programme.
COAI is of the view that a professionally implemented national fibre network can act as a catalyst for broadband penetration in the country. However, NOFN has struggled to take off due to the lack of a holistic and comprehensive scheme and other operational reasons. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has already opined that private operators should be roped in. It has floated a consultation paper and recommended considering engineering, procurement and construction turnkey contracts through international competitive bidding mechanism for executing the project.
The NOFN project, which was initially estimated to cost about Rs 200 billion is running behind schedule and has seen a cost overrun of 75 per cent because of delays. The government has now set a deadline of March 2016 for meeting the programme?s targets.
