|
IMPLEMENTATION
STATUS OF THE SCHEMES
1.0
ONGOING SCHEMES
1.1
PUBLIC ACCESS
1.1.1
Village Public Telephones
Agreements
were signed with M/s BSNL and six Private Basic Service
Operators (PBSOs) in March 2003 for operation and
maintenance of existing Village Public Telephones (VPTs)
in the country in the identified revenue villages as per
Census 1991. In addition, subsidy support is also
admissible for the VPTs installed in additional revenue
villages as per census 2001. About 96% of the eligible Census 2001
inhabited revenue villages are already covered with
Village Public Telephones (VPTs). This includes the VPTs
provided under Bharat Nirman given at para 1.1.2 & 1.1.3
below.
The
details of VPTs being maintained by Universal Service
Providers (USPs), namely, M/s BSNL (www.bsnl.co.in),
RIL (www.relianceinfocom.com),
TTL & TTL (MH (www.tatateleservices.com),
Bharti (www.airteltelephone.com),
HFCL (www.hfclconnect.com)
and Shyam Telecom (www.hellorainbow.com)
are available on the respective websites of these service
providers.
The Achievements of VPTs in various states is given in
Table 1.
1.1.2
New VPTs in the Uncovered villages
Agreements
were signed with M/s BSNL in November 2004 to provide
subsidy support for provision of VPTs in 66822 no. of
uncovered villages as per Census 1991 in the country
excluding those villages having population less than 100,
those lying in deep forests and those affected with
insurgency. Subsidy support in the form of Capital and
Operational expenses will be provided for provision of
these VPTs for a period of five years from the date of
installation of the VPTs. The provision of VPTs in these
villages has been included as one of activities under
Bharat Nirman Programme.Some of the VPTs, which were initially proposed to
be provided on DSPTs, are also being provided through the
Wireless coverage now available in these villages on
account of network expansion. The VPTs were to be provided
in phases covering 20%, 40% and 40% respectively over a
period of three years.
The
details of the villages to be covered under this programme
are placed on the DoT website
www.dot.gov.in & Bharat Nirman website www.dot.gov.in/bharatnirman.htm.
The
targets and achievements for VPTs in uncovered villages
are given in
Table
IA.
1.1.3
1.1.3
New VPTs to be provided in the remaining
villages
as per Census 2001
As per
Census 2001, there are about another 62,443 uncovered
villages, which are yet to be provided with VPT facility.
Such uncovered villages shall also be provided with VPT
facility with subsidy support from USOF. Agreements in
this regard have been signed with BSNL on 27.02.2009 .
]The
targets and achievements for VPTs in uncovered villages
are given in
Table IB.
1.1.4
Replacement of MARR based VPTs
1,86,872 no.
of VPTs which were earlier working on Multi Access Radio
Relay (MARR) technology and installed before 01.04.2002
are to be replaced by reliable technology equipment as
most of these were non functional. Both capital and
operational expenses are to be supported for this
activity. The number of MARR VPTs to be replaced has
subsequently been revised as 185121.
The
targets and achievements for replacement of MARR VPTs are
given in
Table II.
1.1.5
Provision of Rural Community Phones
46,253
villages with population exceeding 2,000 and without a
Public phone facility are being provided with a Rural
Community Phone (RCP). Agreements were signed with M/s
BSNL and M/s RIL in September 2004 to provide 24,822 and
21,431 RCPs respectively in these villages over a period
of three years i.e. by 30.09.2007. These installations are
eligible for both Capital and Operational expenses. The
number of RCPs to be provided has subsequently been
revised as 40705 [BSNL: 21958, RIL: 18747].
The targets
and achievements for RCPs are given in
Table III.
1.2 INDIVIDUAL
ACCESS
1.2.1
RDELS (01.04.05 to 31.03.07)
Agreements
were signed with M/s BSNL, M/s RIL, M/s TTL and M/s TTL (MH)
in March 2005 for installation of Rural Household Direct
Exchange Lines (RDELs) to be installed during the period
01.04.2005 to 31.03.2007. These RDELs were to be installed
in 1685 Short Distance Charging Areas (SDCAs) [BSNL: 1267,
RIL: 203, TTSL: 172, TTML: 43] where cost of providing
telephone connections is more than the revenue earned.
Support in the form of front loaded subsidy is being given
for all the lines (RDELs) installed from 01.04.2005 to
31.03.2007. The equated annual subsidy where
payable, shall be given up to a maximum period of validity
of the Agreement (Five years) and validity period ends in
March, 2010. Subsequently the cutoff date for installation
of the RDELs was extended to 31.3.2010.
The
details of the SDCAs where RDELs are to be provided are
given in
Table IV. The achievements of RDELs are given
in
Table V.
1.2.2
RDELs (01.04.02 to 31.03.05)
Support is
also being extended for 18.65 lakhs rural lines installed
between 01.04.2002 and 31.03.2005 at the same rates as
applicable for the RDELs at (i) above. Agreements to this
effect were signed with M/s BSNL and M/s RIL in May 2005 &
August 2005. The equated annual subsidy is to be given for
a maximum period of five years from the date of
installation of these RDELs. One time front loaded
subsidy is payable only for net addition of rural
household DELs.
1.2.3
RDELs (Prior to 01.04.02)
Support has
been extended to nearly 90.5 lakh rural household Direct
Exchange Lines (RDELs) installed prior to 01.04.2002
towards the rental differential between the TRAI
prescribed rental and the rental charged by the Service
Provider. The support was for the limited period of
01.04.2002 to 31.01.2004. The Access Deficit Regime has
come into operation from 01.02.2004.
1.2.4
Rural Wireline Household DELs installed prior to
01.04.2002
Based on the recommendations of TRAI, Indian Telegraph
Rules (ITR) have already been amended to provide subsidy
support to the eligible operators for operational
sustainability of Rural Wireline Household DELs installed
prior to 01.04.2002
in lieu of ADC being phased out, This support shall be
provided for a period
3 years subject to a
ceiling of Rs. 2000 Crore per annum for the country.
1.3
INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT FOR
MOBILE
SERVICES
A scheme has
recently been launched by USO Fund to provide subsidy
support for setting up and managing 7871 (revised to 7436)
number of infrastructure sites (towers) in 500 districts
spread over 27 states for provision of mobile services in
the specified rural and remote areas, where there is no
existing fixed wireless or mobile coverage. The
infrastructure so created shall be shared by three service
providers for provision of mobile services. The agreements
effective from 01.06.2007 have been signed with the
successful bidders in May 2007.
The
State-wise/IP-wise number of towers to be set up under this scheme
and the towers commissioned are given in
Table VI-A /
Table VI-B
1.4
RURAL BROADBAND SCHEMES
1.4.1
Agreement has been signed with
BSNL on 20.01.09 to provide 8,61,459 wire-line
Broadband connections to individual users and Government
Institutions from 27,789 DSLAMs, installed at existing
rural and remote exchanges over a period of 5-years, i.e.,
by 2014.
The
copy of Agreement signed with BSNL on 20.01.2009 for
provision of Wire line Broadband Connectivity in Rural &
Remote Areas & List
of Exchanges with subsidy covered under it.
List of
28,000 (approx.) Rural Exchanges for Wireline Broadband
Connectivity under this Agreement
Corrigendum 1 to the Agreement and
Related Annexure 1
Amendment 2 to the Agreement
Annexure
Amendment 3 to the Agreement
Clarifications/
letters issued by USOF Finance Wing
1.4.2
The Service Providers, with valid license from DoT for BSO/UASL,
are eligible to apply for the Scheme. Such Service
Providers shall have outdoor copper cable network from
their existing serving exchange in the rural and remote
areas with back-haul & backbone connectivity on OFC.
The interested service providers may kindly see the
EoI
and approach
this office with prescribed details by 6th
March, 2009, at the following address:
DDG (BB),USOF
Department
of Telecommunication,
Room No.
405, Sanchar Bhawan,
20, Ashoka
Road, New Delhi-110001.
1.5
Creation of General Infrastructure like OFC in Rural Areas
- Augmentation, Creation and Management of Intra-District
SDHQ-DHQ OFC Network in Assam
Universal Service
Obligation Fund (USOF) of Department of Telecommunications
(DoT) has launched a Scheme 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. This scheme
considers OFC Network augmentation between the blocks' HQ
and Districts' HQ to begin with.
USOF, through this
Scheme, shall provide subsidy support for augmentation,
creation and management of intra-district SDHQ-DHQ OFC
Network on the condition that it will be shared with other
Telecom Operators at the rates prescribed in the
Agreement. Assam has been taken up first for
implementation. The tender for Assam was floated on
30.10.2009 and BSNL had been declared successful at the
subsidy quote of Rs. 98.89 crore and subsequently, an
Agreement has been signed with BSNL on 12.02.2010 to
implement the scheme in Assam.
Salient Features of the
Scheme: This OFC Scheme would be undertaken on BOO model,
i.e. build, operate & own basis, and accordingly, BSNL
would build, operate, own and manage all the
equipment/infrastructure for the provisioned
intra-district augmented/created OFC Transport network to
connect 354 total locations in Assam that includes 58
en-route/new locations, in addition to 269 SDHQs, in total
27 DHQs.
All locations shall be
connected on physical OFC Ring Route(s) with the DHQ node
ensuring the cable route diversity and ring capacity of at
least 2.5 Gbps, with the capability to efficiently
transport various protocols, including TDM, IP, Frame
Relay, ATM, etc., for integrated voice, data and video
signals in all districts of ASSAM within 18 months from
the date of signing of the Agreement. The Agreement shall
be valid for a period of seven years from the effective
date
At least 70% of the
subsidized bandwidth capacity, created under the scheme,
shall be shared with the licensed service providers in the
area of ASSAM at a rate not more than 26.22% of the
current TRAI ceiling tariffs.
Archive for OFC Assam Scheme
(ii) An EOI was
invited for short listing of applicants to participate in
the
tender for implementing the above scheme. As per the
outcome of the EOI ,
Three applicants have been short listed to participate
. The
Tender document is on sale from 30-10-09 to 18-11-09
to
short listed bidders.
Clarification on Tender for USOF Assam OFC Scheme
Details
Clarification No. 2 - USOF's Tender
No. 30-170-2/2006-USF dated 30.10.2009 for “Augmentation
of OFC Network- Assam
Details
Declaration of successful Bidder for USOF's Tender No.
30-170-2/2006-USF dated 30.10.2009 for 'Augmentation of
OFC Network- Assam
Details
2.0 Planned
USF Schemes
2.1
Public Access
2.1.1
Infrastructure Support for
Mobile
Services (Phase-II)
It is
proposed to cover other uncovered areas in the country
through mobile services for which additional towers are
being identified. About 11000 towers are proposed to be
installed under the second phase of the scheme, which is
likely to be launched shortly. The Details of Towers
is given in
Table VI - D
2.1.2
Wireless Broadband Connectivity for Rural Areas
A
proposal is also under consideration of the Government to
provide subsidy support for Broadband connectivity in
rural and remote areas of the country in a phased manner
by utilizing the existing passive and core infrastructure
available with the Service Providers. It is proposed to
provide broadband connectivity to Gram Panchayats, Higher
secondary schools and primary health centers in order to
provide e-governance and data services to the rural areas.
List of 5,903 Satellite Sites for Satellite
Broadband Connectivity
2.1.3
Wireline Broadband Connectivity for Rural Areas
Wireline Broadband shall also be supported by USOF
wherever feasible.
2.1.4 Augmentation, Creation and Management of
OFC Network in service areas other than Assam
With a view 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, USOF has
taken initiative to strengthen the OFC network in the
rural and remote areas. This scheme considers OFC Network
augmentation between the blocks' HQ and Districts' HQ to
begin with. The above Schemes are envisaged to be rolled
out during the current Five Year Plan (2007-2012).
2.1.5
Pilot Projects
For induction of new technological developments in the
telecom sector on a Pilot Project basis in rural and
remote areas, USOF has invited applications from the
eligible companies to undertake Pilot Projects for
demonstrating their products/ services in the field of
Rural Telephony. About Five Pilot Projects are likely to
be provided subsidy support at an upper sealing of 50
Lakhs per project during the FY 2009-10.
(1)
Support has been extended for pilot projects to establish
new technological developments in the telecom sector which
can be deployed in the rural and remote area.
(2)
Support is also being considered for renewable energy
resources (solar, wind,diesel hybrid solutions) for 20
sites on pilot basis. The same shall be extended to some
of the locations for second phase of USO Shared
Infrastructure Scheme.
(3)
Support is being considered for mobile charging stations
in 5000 villages through TERI projects of Lighting a
Billion Lives (LaBL).
3.
Status of Disbursements made and availability of Funds
The
year-wise allocation & disbursement of funds is available
at
Tables VII
&
VIII.
|
