BSNL to invest Rs 800 crore on expansion of broadband network

Indian government owned BSNL has said that they are going to invest Rs 800 crore to expand its broadband network across the country.

They would be making this investment on the infrastructure over the next three years. The company also has plans to invest Rs 27,000 crore over the next three years for the expansion of the cellular network primarily in rural areas.

BSNL is hoping to get the 3G spectrum by the end of 2007. They have just launched their IPTV service in the Pune city and would be expanding the availability to other cities.

BSNL chairman and managing director A K Sinha said in a statement: “For broadband, we will invest Rs 800 crore over the next three years to expand the network. From January 2008, we will add five million broadband connections per year. In the next year, we will spread broadband to 1,100 towns and will connect 20,000 villages with broadband connection. We are planning to provide one crore cellular connections by end of 2007. From January 2008, we plan to provide three crore connections per year. We plan to invest Rs 27,000 crore for the infrastructure to reach to villages of India.”

Sinha added: “We are currently the connection provider but there are places where we will not be able to find content providers with whom we can partner for multiplay services. We are planning to invest Rs 300 to 400 crore for content development.”

Vodafone and Airtel do have a tough task at their hands.

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