Private ISPs may connect last mile in BharatNet as users lag

Launched in 2011 as the National Optical Fibre Network and later renamed BharatNet, the programme aimed to bring high-speed broadband to 250,000 Gram Panchayats within two years, a deadline that passed unmet. The target was subsequently divided into phases. In Phase I, the target was to connect 100,000 Gram Panchayats, which was completed only in December 2017. Under phase 2, the target was set to connect the remaining 150,000 gram panchayats, with a revised strategy by March 2019. As of September end, about 224,590 gram panchayats have been made connected by fiber under the BharatNet, according to the DoT dashboard.