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Bharat Net seeks to connect all of India’s households, particularly in rural areas, through broadband by 2017, forming the backbone of the government’s ambitious Digital India programme.
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Earlier National Optical Fibre Network or NOFN failed due to slow implementation.
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NOFN is now rebranded as Bharat Net.
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At present, a special purpose vehicle, Bharat Broadband Network Ltd (BBNL), under the telecom ministry is handling the roll out of optical fibre network.
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The project is being executed by BSNL, Railtel and Power Grid
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It is world’s largest rural broadband connectivity programme using Optical fibre
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The project is being funded by Universal service Obligation Fund (USOF).
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The three-phase implementation under the BharatNet project is:
Under the first phase, one lakh gram panchayats would be provided connectivity by laying underground optic fibre cable (OFC) lines by March 2017. This phase is nearing its completion.Under the second phase, connectivity will be provided to all 2,50,500 gram panchayats in the country. It is to be completed by December 2018.Under the third phase from 2018 to 2023, state-of-the-art, future-proof network, including fiber between districts and blocks would be created