Bharti Airtel to provide infrastructure to link 13,000 villages under Gujarat's eGram rural telephony initiative

Bharti Airtel has signed an agreement to set up V-SAT based last mile connectivity telecom infrastructure project to connect 13,716 village panchayats and common service centres in the state under the state government's eGRAM connectivity infrastructure project, the first-of-its kind in the country.

Once connected, the panchayat offices / eGRAMs are expected to form a powerful socio-economic network supporting information dissemination and faciltating e-governance initiatives in the state.

Bharti Airtel was chosen for this project owing to its unique VSAT based last mile solution backed by a strong delivery plan to reach out to the rural masses. The project rollout is expected to take place in a fast-track mode with completion slated for March 2008. The project also assumes significance for the company as it clearly puts it in a leadership position in the VSAT space.

Manoj Kohli, president and CEO, Bharti Airtel, said, "This partnership reiterates Airtel's endeavor to collaborate with the Government's e-governance plans and efforts to bridge the 'digital divide' by providing connectivity to the rural masses. The e-enabling of the state is an important step as the country moves into the net phase of economic growth."

The project linking 13,716 village panchayats and common service centres located in the remote corner of the state will ensure high quality and cost-effective video, voice and data services in the areas of agriculture, e-governance, health, education etc. at Village Panchayats.

The connectivity will also facilitate point to point and point to multi-point video conference services, VoIP services and intra and internet services from these village panchayats and common service centres.