Context

Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) has invited global tender for the Development (Creation, Upgradation, Operation & Maintenance and Utilisation) of BharatNet through Public Private Partnership model.

About

About the BharatNet project

• BharatNet is the Government of India’s flagship project which is considered to be the backbone of ‘Digital India’.
• It aims to reduce the digital divide between urban and rural India.
• The BharatNet infrastructure is a middle mile network which is presently leased to the service providers for providing affordable high-speed broadband to the rural population, individuals, households and the institutions.

Significance of the project:

• A World Bank study said that a 10% increase in broadband connectivity will leads to 1.38% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Broadband penetration in India is at present less than 2%.
• Government of India has approved the setting up of National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) to provide connectivity to 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats of the country. This would ensure broadband connectivity with adequate bandwidth.
• Broadband is a tool to improve the lives of the people by providing affordable and equitable access to the information and knowledge. It can contribute towards increasing trade and employment avenues.
• Information and communication Technologies (ICT) applications such as e-Commerce, e-Governance, e-Banking, e-Education and Tele-medicine require high speed Internet connectivity. NOFN will facilitate this initiative.

What is BharatNet Public Private Partnership?

• The existing BharatNet was connecting all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) of the country by laying of OFC between Block and GPs.

What is OFC (Optical Fibre Cable)? A fiber-optic cable is composed of very thin strands of glass or plastic which is known as optical fibers. One cable can have as few as two strands or as many as several hundreds of them. These optical fiber cables carry information between two places using optical or light-based technology. A photoelectric cell will be required to turn the pulses of light back into electrical information the computer could understand.

• Now, the scope of BharatNet has been enhanced to connect all the Inhabited Villages of the country, approx. 6.43 lakhs.
• The scope of work under BharatNet PPP Project includes:
• Connecting the remaining unconnected GPs under BharatNet project and all the inhabited Villages beyond the GPs.
• Upgradation of existing BharatNet Network from Linear to Ring topology.
• Operation and Maintenance (O&M) and Utilisation of existing as well as the newly deployed network.

Ring topology A ring network is a network topology to connect two other nodes every nodes. It forms a single continuous pathway for signals through each node, a ring. Data travels from node to node and each node along the way handling every packet.