National News: April 2009
[This article was published in the April 2009 issue of the eGov Magazine (http://www.egovonline.net) ]
BSNL Towers in Semi-Urban Areas to be Leased Out
RURAL-TELEPHONY
Separation of USOF, DoT For Rural Telephony
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recently recommended separation of the USOF from the department of telecommunications and make it an autonomous body on the lines of the National Highways Authority of India.
Enabling Last Mile Connectivity : Ajay Bhattacharya, Administrator-Department of Telecommunications, India
“There are six lakh villages in India and a vast number of them were uncovered with telecom services. USO Fund provides support for setting up rural telephony in these uncovered villages”, says Ajay Bhattacharya, Administrator, Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India to egov magazine
DoT to Allow Niche Operators in Rural Areas of India
The Department of Telecomm (DoT) of India has asked telecoms regulators to suggest the policy guidelines under which niche operators should be permitted. Niche operators essentially operate in small areas such as a district and offer mobile and broadband services.
Connecting the Next 500 Million: Challenges-Opportunities
[This article was published in the January 2008 issue of the eGov Magazine (http://www.egovonline.net) ]
According to the 11th five year plan, the target of connecting people has been set as 500 million of the government of India in 2010 and 650 million by 2012.
Indian Defence Ministry agrees to vacate 42.5 Mhz spectrum
The Indian Defence force is ready to vacate 42.5 Mhz spectrum, including the 3G spectrum by September, 2007.
IT Minister of India, Raja focuses on rural telephony
New Communications and IT Minister of India, A.Raja has promised to focus on rural telephony across the country.
Punjab, India moves for e-Agriculture services
The State Government of Punjab (India) is moving towards the direction of e-Agriculture by setting up ‘Kisan Soochna Kendras’, a network of agricultural information kiosks with broadband connectivity across the state.
USOF invites telecom operators for rural telephony
Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) has invited two sets of bids from telecom operators to provide high quality telephony service in rural areas of India. USOF, the agency has conducted an auction to select the telecom operators to subsidise rural communications.
