Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Shri Milind Deora, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, said that non-discriminatory access to the network will be provided to all categories of service providers.
Shri Deora also said that to improve the telecom connectivity in the predominantly hilly areas, North-Eastern region, Telecom Commission on 06.11.2013 has accorded ‘in principle’ approval for the proposal to implement a Comprehensive Telecom Plan for the North-East, based on the recommendations [dated September 2013] given by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and directed that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) be prepared for the same.
As on 30.09.2013, 5,82,323 out of the 5,93,601 inhabited villages [i.e. 98.10%] as per Census 2001 have been covered with Village Public Telephones (VPTs). VPTs are being provided in remaining inhabited uncovered villages including hilly states and regions through Digital Satellite Phone Terminals (DSPTs).
Optical Fibre Network Augmentation, Creation and Management of Intra-District SDHQ-DHQ OFC Network in North Eastern Region has been launched to provide sufficient back-haul capacity to integrate the voice and data traffic from the access network in the rural areas to their core network by strengthening the OFC network between district headquarters and block headquarters in North Eastern region using BOO model, i.e. build, operate & own basis.
