Seven telecom majors in race for AP Broadband Project

Rs 600-crore project expected to be completed within two years

Seven major telecom players in the country are fiercely competing to grab the Rs 600-crore Andhra Pradesh Broadband Project, which was proposed by the state government.

"Seven telecom companies have submitted their bids to take up the Andhra Pradesh Broadband Project. We will finalise on one of the parties at the earliest and the proposed project will be completed within two years," J C Mohanty, principal secretary, Information Technology and Communications Department, told Business Standard here on Tuesday.

According to Mohanty, the project cost would be around Rs 600 crore, with the state government contributing Rs 25 crore through Andhra Pradesh Technology Services as its equity and the remaining cost would be borne by the developer.

"This project will provide bandwidth facility to all the 25,000 villages in the state by laying optic fibre cable connectivity within two years and all the state government departments will use this facility. The private developer has the choice to lease out this facility to even private users across the state," he said.

The project will have two ways communication facility even from small villages, and this broadband connectivity will change the rural economic scenario in the state, he added.

"Our aim is to provide internet and other facilities through optical fibre connectivity with very reasonable and affordable price even to the rural people," he pointed out.

With many IT companies opening shop in the state, the government is expecting a growth of 25-30 per cent in IT and software exports this fiscal, Mohanty said.

During the last fiscal, IT and software exports from the state was Rs 5,025 crore. The government is planning to set up IT parks at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam with the help of private developers. For this purpose, the government has earmarked 450 acres at the state capital and 11 acres at Visakhapatnam, he said.

The government is also taking steps to train one lakh students during the next 12 months in information technology, communication and leadership skills to create better employment opportunities, he said, adding that the government has decided to give accreditation to some of the private educational institutes across the state to offer quality training.