Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is rolling out a new plan under the central government’s flagship rural internet connectivity scheme, the BharatNet project.
Talking about a Fiber To The Home (FTTH) plan not yet publicly announced, BSNL Nodal Officer Akash Upasani said that in rural areas, customers whose copper networks are being changed to fiber from August 1 will be offered a Rs 249 plan, plus 18 per cent GST. It includes unlimited calling and 10 GB internet of 10 Mbps speed, offered for free initially. In urban areas, the same plan will cost Rs 299 plus GST, he added.
Currently, BSNL offers a ‘Ghar Ka Wifi’ plan for rural customers at Rs 399 a month. This plan offers unlimited data at a speed of up to 30 Mbps till 1000 GB and 4 Mbps beyond that and unlimited calls to any network.
The Union Cabinet on August 4 had approved Rs 1.39 lakh crore for modernising the BharatNet project which aims to provide fiber connections to the last mile through village-level entrepreneurs and reach all Gram Panchayats across India.
BSNL decided to switch from copper wires to fiber in 2017. “This is being done for technological upgradation. Copper has been in the market since 1950. When it is fiberised, by default, the speed will be 10 Mbps minimum, and 300 Mbps maximum. In any plan, the limitation of copper is that you can only have a speed of 8 Mbps,” Upasani added.
BSNL has 40,000 connections in Pune and 600 connections in Pune rural, officials revealed.
