Government opens BharatNet to private ISPs to boost rural connections
The government is switching things up for BharatNet by inviting private internet providers to help get more rural homes online.
Despite aiming for 15 million connections, only about 1.64 million homes were connected till September end.
To fix this, a new portal and fresh guidelines are coming, making use of existing fiber lines to finally bring faster internet to villages.
Private ISPs to manage BharatNet customers
BharatNet started back in 2011, but struggled with patchy service and slow progress.
Now, private ISPs will manage customers directly and get most of the subscriber revenue plus subsidies, speeding up installations and cutting red tape.
They will also need to put up financial guarantees matching their subsidies, so there is more accountability this time around.
The hope is that these changes will make reliable internet a reality for rural India at last.