Telecom projects worth Rs 1.30 lakh crore in works: Aruna Sundararajan

NEW DELHI: Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan on Tuesday said that telecom infrastructure would grow massively over the next 2-3 years backed by an investment of Rs 1.3 lakh crore.

“In 2-3 years, the country will see more new initiatives with an investment of Rs 130,000 crore. Telecom infrastructure will see massive expansion and upgradation,” Sundararajan said at an industry event. Telecom Commission, the highest decision-making body of the telecom department, has recently approved several projects that include North-East mobile towers, Internet connectivity in 30,000 villages through satellite bandwidth and revised Network for Spectrum (NFS) project.

The top telecom department official said the government would soon be reaching unconnected villages with infrastructure initiatives it has undertaken, and added that the ambitious BharatNet program has already reached 80,000 village blocks or gram Panchayats and can easily meet a target of 100,000 blocks by December this year.

“From January onwards, we will be able to offer a bouquet of services to rural India. Lowest data rates and affordable devices will propel India towards a digital age,” she said.

Sundararajan said the hunger for Internet in India is high and people including those in rural India see it as a gateway for economic growth and social interactions. India has leapfrogged and become the largest consumer of data only second to the UK, she said, citing worldwide statistics.