The government has allocated a project worth Rs 36.83 billion to Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio for providing 4G mobile services in uncovered villages of aspirational districts. As per sources, under the proposed project, Airtel will install 1,083 mobile towers with an expenditure of Rs 8.48 billion in Jharkhand and Maharashtra and Jio will roll out 3,696 towers for Rs 28.36 billion.
Meanwhile, the telcos have been given 18 months to roll out 4G services in the identified villages.
The project aims to provide 4G based mobile services in 7,287 uncovered villages of 44 aspirational districts across five states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha at an estimated cost of implementation about Rs 64.66 billion including operational expenses for five years. The project would be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) and is likely to be completed by November 2023.
