By the end of this year, internet connectivity in north-eastern states is likely to be as good as in metros such as Delhi and Mumbai with building of a new international internet gateway from Bangladesh to the region.
The project, for which the agreement was signed between Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company and India’s BSNL during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the neighbouring country last month, was kick started by Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in Agartala on Saturday.
With this, India will be able to lease 10 Gbps (Gigabits per second) capacity from Bangladesh. This can later be increased to 40 Gbps.
“International gateway for broadband connectivity will be installed at Agartala for extending internet bandwidth in north eastern region via Cox Bazar landing station in Bangladesh. This project will resolve telecom connectivity issue to a great extent in North Eastern states,” Mr Prasad said.
The two points will be connected by laying of cable by both the sides. At present, there are five international gateways in India at New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. However, the connectivity to north eastern states, namely Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, through these is frequently disrupted.
The project is likely to be commissioned by January 2016, resulting in faster speeds and improved services in the region. Its cost is estimated to be Rs 19.1 crore with annual operational expenditure of about 7.2 crore, to be funded by Department of Telecom.
Meanwhile, talking about the just concluded > Digital India week , Mr. Prasad said the government received ‘overwhelming’ support from all state governments, districts and gram panchayats. He added that over 250 online services for citizens were launched by various state governments, indicating the success of the government's Digital India week.
“More than 250 services relating to health, education, public distribution system, Police, agriculture, trade and employment have been launched by various state governments,” Prasad said at conference.
The Digital India week was inaugurated by PM Modi at a grand function in the national capital. It attracted investments of Rs 4.5 lakh crore from top industrialists.
