DoT wants states not to levy RoW
KOLKATA: The telecom department (DoT) has exhorted all state governments to waive right of way (RoW) charges for speeding up rollout of the Rs 21,000-crore national optic fibre network or NOFN, especially since states will also be leveraging the broadband network infrastructure to launch government services.
State governments must "contribute by not levying any RoW charges toward optic fibre rollout" as they will be leveraging NOFN to launch multiple government services themselves, said DoT in an internal note seen by ET.
The NOFN network will enable states to "empower rural masses by giving them access to useful information and public services relating to education, health and financial inclusion, which in turn can boost local employment generation and state GDP," said the DoT note. Accordingly, each state has been told to set up an apex committee headed by its chief secretary to relax RoW payout rules with regard to the NOFN project and facilitate expeditious optic fibre cable network rollout.
The NOFN will be the main communications backbone for the Centre's Digital India initiative that aims to offer low-cost citizen services and transform the country into a connected economy. It is the telecom ministry's most ambitious venture for taking high-speed internet to the hinterlands. DoT also proposes to deliver community-based services ranging from e-health, e-education, e-governance to e-commerce transactions across the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats or 'village blocks' that will be linked by the NOFN network.
Noting that some states were levying hefty RoW charges, equivalent to Rs 1.27 crore per km, DoT has urged states to scrap such practices, failing which NOFN project costs would shoot up and scuttle the Centre's ambitions of delivering affordable broadband services. DoT has reached out to states as there has scarcely been any progress in laying down optic fibre over the past three years.
State governments must "contribute by not levying any RoW charges toward optic fibre rollout" as they will be leveraging NOFN to launch multiple government services themselves, said DoT in an internal note seen by ET.
The NOFN network will enable states to "empower rural masses by giving them access to useful information and public services relating to education, health and financial inclusion, which in turn can boost local employment generation and state GDP," said the DoT note. Accordingly, each state has been told to set up an apex committee headed by its chief secretary to relax RoW payout rules with regard to the NOFN project and facilitate expeditious optic fibre cable network rollout.
The NOFN will be the main communications backbone for the Centre's Digital India initiative that aims to offer low-cost citizen services and transform the country into a connected economy. It is the telecom ministry's most ambitious venture for taking high-speed internet to the hinterlands. DoT also proposes to deliver community-based services ranging from e-health, e-education, e-governance to e-commerce transactions across the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats or 'village blocks' that will be linked by the NOFN network.
Noting that some states were levying hefty RoW charges, equivalent to Rs 1.27 crore per km, DoT has urged states to scrap such practices, failing which NOFN project costs would shoot up and scuttle the Centre's ambitions of delivering affordable broadband services. DoT has reached out to states as there has scarcely been any progress in laying down optic fibre over the past three years.
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