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National Broadband Mission 2.0 aims to expand fiber to 2.7 lakh villages by 2030
The Department of Telecommunications on Friday launched the vision document for the National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0, a follow-up to the previous NBM released in December 2019. The growth of broadband subscriptions “serves as the fulcrum, the foundation, and the basis for the launch of NBM 2.0”, Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia said at an event. The goals of the new NBM include improved fiberisation in rural areas, faster fixed internet speeds, and improving right-of-way for telecom infrastructure.
The Mission aims to expand “operational” fiber connectivity to 2.7 lakh villages by 2030, from 50,000 now. 90% of “anchor institutions” like schools, anganwadis, public health centres, and panchayat offices should be connected through fiber by then as well, the Mission says. The share of rural Indians who are subscribers should also grow from 45% to 60% by then, the document says.
Right of way
The document also lays out goals to expand wireless connectivity, as mobile internet faster than 2Mbps is included in the definition of broadband in India. 5G connectivity should be improved by encouraging “a robust, ready to use street furniture infrastructure across the country,” the Mission says. Moreover, coordination work should be done between the Union government and State governments to facilitate right-of-way permissions for fiber cables and telecom towers.
The Mission also calls for leveraging “Power Sector Assets,” such as ground cabling whose housing can also support fiber optic cables, and making use of electricity transmission lines to transport internet cables as well. A “Call Before u Dig” app launched in 2023 should also be used more widely so that public works and construction don’t damage underground telecom assets.
Caller fraud
Mr. Scindia also launched the application version of the Sanchar Saathi portal, which has so far been available as a mobile- and desktop-friendly webpage from the DoT. The portal provides services like Chakshu, for reporting suspected fraud communications through Chakshu, and tools to deal with multiple SIM registrations under an individual’s name and disable their handsets in the event of theft. The Hindu