The Ministry of Telecommunications and IT has said that seven states have proposed to come up with their own model to roll out broadband network proposed under the Rs 720 billion BharatNet prorgamme. While Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are planning to introduce a state or special purpose vehicle (SPV)-run model, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal have decided to develop their own model owing to the lack of confidence in the central public sector undertakings (CPSUs) involved in carrying out the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) programme.
Under the BharatNet programme, the central government has given states an option to roll out broadband network as per three models – current model operated by CPSUs, through an SPV or state-led, and private sector led model. The programme envisages achieving 99.9 per cent broadband availability compared to about 96 per provisioned under NOFN.
