Express News Service By

HYDERABAD: If the Andhra Pradesh government’s plans to connect villages across the State with Optical Fibre Network materialise, every villager will be able to get broadband connection with 10-15 mbps download speed for just Rs 150 per month in the next five years.

Though the Union Budget disappointed many in the State, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his speech on Saturday, announced that the Centre had accepted the AP government’s proposal to execute the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) on its own.

“AP has become the first State to opt for laying optical fibre cables across the State as part of the NOFN project on its own. The telecom department will reimburse the cost of the project as per the rates determined by it,” he said.

By executing this project, the AP government wants to deliver broadband connection with 10-15 mbps download speed to each household in the State. The State government has estimated the total project cost to be around Rs 4,913 crore, which would be completed in the next five years in a phased manner. However, the Union government earmarked Rs 1,940 crore for the NOFN project in the State.

To implement the project, the State government will set up ‘AP Fibre Corporation’. According to sources, the State government would execute this project across the State by adopting ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ (PPP) model. The project is part of the Modi government’s much-hyped Digital India programme. The initiative will start with AP while West Bengal and Bihar will be given priority.