India's first hi-speed rural broadband network commissioned Monday Jan 12,2015

 

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday Jan 12,2015 commissioned India's first hi-speed rural broadband network in Kerala's Idukki district, calling the project a "giant leap" to bridge the digital divide in the country

Speaking at the inauguration at the Technopark campus, the biggest IT hub in the state, Prasad said the country was witnessing "a new era of digital empowerment" and his government "has firmly set its focus on the all round development and inclusive growth of the country".
"NOFN (National Optical Fibre Network) project is a giant leap in order to bridge the digital divide in India by linking all gram panchayats through the common platform of optical fibre cable. I extend my complete support to this project and I am proud to be a part of this new digital journey in India's history," the minister said.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy termed it a momentous day for the state and thanked the central government for choosing Kerala as the launching pad for this project which would turn out as a milestone in the history of the country's quest for making all sections of people digitally enabled.
"As the most literate state in India, the people of Kerala look forward to the new economic development opportunities that NOFN has opened for the state," he said.


NOFN is set to link 600 million rural citizens of India across 2.5 lakh gram panchayats of India spread over 6,600 blocks and 631 districts through broadband optical fibre network

NOFN which is being funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), of the department of telecom, is envisaged as a non-discriminatory telecom infrastructure that will bridge the gap in rural telecom access.

In the first phase, it will cover 50,000 gram panchayats, with the balance 200,000 panchayats expected to be covered in a phased manner by 2016. The project is being implemented by three central PSUs - BSNL, PGCIL and Railtel in the first phase.