In today’s modern age when we cannot imagine our lives without high-speed internet connectivity, there are still remote villages in our country which lack basic 2G internet connectivity, and even mobile networks. According to a report, there are nearly 200 villages in Bihar which do not have mobile network connectivity even in the current digital age where internet services have become a necessary part of our daily lives.
The central government has launched its ambitious BharatNet project to provide high-speed internet connectivity in rural areas, especially in remote villages across the country. However, the project is a herculean endeavor as is evident from the fact that 173 villages in Bihar still lack mobile network connectivity.
As per various reports, out of the total 44,888 villages in Bihar, 234 villages lack 4G network connectivity, while as many as 173 villages have not been connected to any mobile network at all as no infrastructure has been installed. The villages which lack a mobile network often face issues when internet services at the local Panchayat Bhawan, the only internet facility in the area, is down.
The Union Telecom Ministry has sought information from the Information and Technology Department of Bihar about the number of mobile towers required to provide network connectivity in these remote villages of the state, officials said.
Touted as one of the biggest rural telecom projects in the world, the BharatNet project is designed to be implemented in a phased manner to all Gram Panchayats (approximately 2.5 lakh) in the country for providing “non-discriminatory access to broadband connectivity to all the telecom service providers.”
According to the government official mission statement, the objective of BharatNet is to enable access providers like mobile operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Cable TV operators, content providers to launch various services such as applications like e-health, e-education and e-governance in rural and remote India.
As per officials, BharatNet has connected 2,14,679 Gram Panchayats, laid 6,92,082 km of optical fiber cable for broadband connectivity. “Additionally, 11,69,571 Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) connections are commissioned and 1,04,574 Wi-Fi hotspots are installed to ensure last-mile connectivity,” they said.
