Tamil Nadu sets ball rolling on BharatNet, ties up with L&T and other firms

SPV is implementing the project to provide 1 Gbps bandwidth connectivity to all 12,525 gram panchayats in the state for Rs 1,815.32 crore

In an effort to ensure the availability of high-speed internet connectivity in Tamil Nadu under the BharatNet Project (Tamil Nadu Fibernet Project), the state government has initiated the project by tying up with system integrators like Larsen and Toubro, ITI Ltd and third-party agency BECIL.

Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation (Tanfinet), a special purpose vehicle, is implementing the BharatNet project in Tamil Nadu at a sanctioned cost of Rs 1,815.32 crore. This project aims to provide 1 Gbps bandwidth connectivity to all gram panchayats. A total of 12,525 gram panchayats in Tamil Nadu will be covered under the project through optical fibre cable with high-speed bandwidth connectivity, said Mano Thangaraj, minister for information technology.

In order to implement the project, four packages (A, B, C and D) were formed district wise and four System Integrators were identified, one for each package, along with a Third-Party Agency (TPA) to inspect and audit the implementation.

The current deal is to lay optical fiber cables (OFC) to villages in delta and southern districts under which 3,326 gram panchayats included in package C, and 3,103 in package D will be covered. This will be in Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Pudukottai, Namakkal, Karur, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Tiruchirappalli districts (Package C) and in Kanyakumari, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Theni, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Tenkasi, Dindigul, Sivagangai (Package D).

At present, the contract being signed will be provided with minimum 1 Gbps bandwidth service. After the disposal of the pending litigations in Package A and Package B, the project will be implemented in all the 12,525 Gram Panchayats.

The scheme aims to provide affordable and quality digital services, e-education, telemedicine and triple-play services to all gram panchayats in Tamil Nadu. It also seeks to provide high-speed internet services to Government offices, schools, colleges and business enterprises. The minister has said that by providing such services, the project will augment the delivery of Government services and generate employment in rural areas.