The government of India has previously launched several initiatives aimed at providing toilets, housing, and piped water to every village across the nation. Now, it is gearing up for a significant investment plan of Rs 33,744 crore to connect all villages with high-speed broadband internet. This program is designed to ensure telecom connectivity saturation, particularly in remote areas. Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia shared this information at the Bharat Telecom 2025 event, organized by the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Bringing telecom connectivity to every village will empower citizens by improving their access to information and communication. However, the government has rolled out various schemes in the past, such as PM-WANI, BharatNet, and the 4G Saturation Project, but many of these initiatives have fallen short of their targets.
Previous projects have faced significant implementation and execution challenges, including a lack of coordination among agencies and infrastructure issues, as well as logistical barriers like difficult terrain and low population density. How the government plans to tackle these challenges in the new initiative will become clearer once it is put into action.
Meanwhile, DoT in India has announced a new set of 29-30 security guidelines for satellite service providers in advance of the commercial rollout of satellite internet. These guidelines are designed to enhance national security, taking into account current geopolitical tensions with neighboring countries such as Pakistan and China.
The updated regulations apply to both existing license holders, including Airtel OneWeb and Jio SES, as well as pending applicants like Amazon Kuiper and Elon Musk’s Starlink. Compliance with these conditions is required for license approval and ongoing operations in India.
Companies such as Jio and Airtel are currently operating under previous regulatory norms, while Starlink has not yet satisfied the earlier conditions set by regulators. The introduction of an additional 30 parameters may lead to further delays in Starlink’s launch in India, even though it has already initiated services in neighboring countries. India TV News