Optic fibre project deals will be sealed by June-end: BBNL chief

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Centre has embarked on the ambitious e-India project with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore and created SPV Bharat Broadband, but the project has been delayed.

Ministry of Communications and IT's additional secretary, and USO Fund administrator and Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) CEO N Ravi Shanker shares his progress report card with CIOL.

CIOL: What is the synergy between DoT and DeitY?

Ravi Shanker: We have already completed three pilots covering 58 gram panchayats. DeitY has come forward to utilize that infrastructure for showcasing e-activities specifically by placing customer premise equipment (CPE). There has been progress in counterpart funding. NIC, the supporting agency of DeitY, has supplied equipment in schools and primary health centers by taking 10 Mbps connectivity from the BSNL for the purpose of e-Gov apps.

CIOL: Are state governments gearing up to embrace this ambitious fiber network project?

RS: State governments are being asked to prepare themselves to launch applications as and when rollout actually begins. They have also been asked to use pilot locations for testing and bandwidth availability. State governments can provide content in local languages. State governments can also leverage CPE for various state-wide programs in cohesion with various Union government projects such as MHRD initiatives. This would be extremely beneficial for school children, especially for senior and higher secondary schools.

CIOL: How many MoUs have been inked with state governments so far?

RS: Right of Way (RoW) MoU is a critical prerequisite for undertaking work in states. As of April, 22 states and 4 Union Territories have signed tripartite agreement. Others will follow in a month.

CIOL: Has the survey work concluded?

RS: Survey work is in full swing. Out of 250,000 gram panchayats, we have got indicative completion of work in 180,000 gram panchayats. Rest of it would be completed by the end of May.

CIOL: So, what is the current stage? By when will composite tenders be floated and actual ground-level work commence?

RS: We are in a pre-tender stage now. Tender for optic fiber procurement has already been rolled out while the tender for GPON technology will be rolled out soon. BSNL and RailTel are yet to roll out tender for ducts. Meanwhile, PowerGrid has already initiated the process. Trenching and laying would be carried out by field units of these PSUs. Till June-end, all bids will be finalized. Once mobilization of activities takes place, work will commence and this would be from July-end. By September-end, actual progress of the work will be reported to us by districts.

CIOL: What's the current workforce of BBNL and is there a plan to scale it up?

RS: BBNL comprises of 25 senior officials. It's a lean organization, and our workforce could go up to 50 individuals. We get our work done by PSUs.