Rs 3,00,000 crore investment needed in telecom

NEW DELHI: The government is going to require about Rs 3,00,000 crore of investment for upgrading its equipment in order to roll out broadband services and achieve a target of 150 million new telephone lines over the next three years informed minister of state for communications and IT Shakeel Ahmad while speaking at the inauguration of Convergence India 2005.






"As per the present growth trends, expectations are that we would add approximately 150 million lines in the next three years. This would translate to equipment requirement of about Rs 1,50,000 crore. In addition to this, there would be requirement for equipment needed for broadband and other value added services and here another Rs 1,50,000 crore would be needed. The total investment will be divided equally for broadband services and setting up new telephone lines, here," he explained.





In the recently released Broadband Policy, the government has envisaged a target of 40 million internet and 20 million broadband subscribers by 2010. This proposed investment plan would cement that vision.





Inviting all the major telecom equipment manufacturers to set base in the country, Ahmad said that in the wake of huge growth in this sector, companies should take cue from the overall growth of this region and start considering manufacturing options here.





"Already there are few companies like Nokia, LG, and Alcatel that have shown interest in setting up manufacturing bases here. I think that there is a lot more scope for participation of the other leading players as the demand in this country is huge and the subscriber base is growing at an enormous rate," he added.