The government is aiming to strengthen telecom connectivity in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and will be soon providing telecom connectivity to 87 uncovered villages in J&K and 57 in Ladakh. The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) has taken an initiative to cover 354 uncovered remote villages of India. Out of these 354 villages, 144 are in J&K and Ladakh. After execution of this project, there will be 100 per cent telephonic coverage of habitation in the two regions.
Besides, 812 digital satellite phone terminals have been provisioned to cover remote territories of the country, of which 134 sites are in the Ladakh region, including the Galwan Valley and Hot Springs, DBO, D. Singh Post, Lukumg, Thakung and Chusul.
The coverage in all these areas will be provided by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The government is also considering a NITI Aayog proposal to roll out 4G network of BSNL using locally designed and manufactured products.
