The Telangana state government will set up optic fiber connectivity across 72 urban locations in the state including Hyderabad, reports TelanganaToday. The optic fiber project known as T-Fiber will be laid down alongside Mission Bhagiratha–the Telangana govt’s drinking water pipeline project. Separate ducts for the fiber cables will be laid down alongside the water pipelines, the report said.
The entire expenditure for the project will be taken care by the state while the deadline to complete T-fiber project is set in August 2018. The state claims to have made tender deals to carry out the fiber laying process. There was no information provided on the speeds offered and tariff details. The T-fiber government website also doesn’t mention any tariff details.
Mission Bhagiratha was unveiled in April; it aims to provide 1 lakh new tap connections in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The project is now physically being linked with T-fiber for identifying and connecting areas faster. The state government’s IT administration and the Municipal Corporation will set up a joint committee to supervise the project. Fiber cables will also be laid alongside already existing water pipelines, the report added.
T-Fiber will get support from BharatNet
T-Fiber will cover a total distance of 47,000 Kms, and will also be combined with the Center’s BharatNet project—the government ambitious fiber line project that aims to connect 250,000 lakh Gram Panchayats with fiber connectivity. BharatNet has however missed 3 deadlines while costs have doubled due to the delay.
Hyderabad City WiFi project: Apart from the state-sponsored wired broadband project, Telangana is also investing in WiFi. The govt launched 1,000 WiFi hotspots in Hyderabad in June. It plans to setup hotspots in 2,000 more locations. A Telangana government spokesperson told MediaNama at that time that ISPs including ACT and telcos like Airtel and BSNL have provided bandwidth for the project. While IndusTowers, a joint tower infrastructure venture consisting of Idea, Vodafone and Airtel, also participated in the WiFi rollout.
Rise of state-sponsored WiFi and broadband projects
Apart from Telangana, several state-sponsored public WiFi/broadband initiatives were announced in the past couple of months. We have tracked down a total of 8 including Telangana government’s current announcement:
- Uttar Pradesh: Last month, the UP state launched WiFi hotspots at 74 bus stations that are spread across 66 district headquarters.
- Kerala: The state plans to set up Wi-Fi hotspots in 2,000 public places like government offices, bus stops, parks, tourist destinations, courts etc. in the next 7 months.
- Karnataka: The state government has installed WiFi hotspots in BMTC buses. The Karnataka state government also has two different WiFi project in the works.
- Maharashtra: It had installed 1200 WiFi hotspotsacross Mumbai city in May. WiFi usage was provided for free for all users until the end of January when it was u unveiled.
- Tamil Nadu: The TN government also has a plan for free WiFi facilities in public spaces and Internet in schools. The state set aside Rs 10 crore for the WiFi project and another Rs 7.3 crore. It is also providing subsidized broadband plans under Arasu Cable TV Corporation brand.
- Delhi: The Delhi Government also plans to install 1000 hotspots in 571 locations.
- BSNL’s project in Kerala: BSNL also has plans to install 10,000 hotspotsat government-owned schools in Kerala in partnership with the state government of Kerala.
