BharatNet: Bringing Broadband to Villages

How India's plan to connect every village council with optical fibre has progressed, why the last mile is hard, and what rural broadband can do for the economy.

India’s mobile revolution brought cheap data to hundreds of millions of people. But high-speed fixed broadband remains limited in rural areas. BharatNet aims to change that.

The plan

Launched in 2011 as the National Optical Fibre Network, and renamed BharatNet in 2015, the project aims to connect all of India’s roughly 2.5 lakh gram panchayats (village councils) with optical fibre. It is funded mainly through the Universal Service Obligation Fund, now called Digital Bharat Nidhi, which collects a levy from telecom companies.

Progress and problems

The project suffered repeated delays and missed deadlines.
Many connected panchayats had poor usage, as fibre reached a government building but not homes or businesses.
Maintenance was weak, with cuts and outages.

The last mile

The hardest and most expensive part of any network is the last mile: connecting individual homes. Rural areas have low population density and lower incomes, making it less profitable for companies.

A new approach

In 2023, the government approved a revamped BharatNet with a large budget, using a PPP-style model in which private operators build, upgrade and maintain networks and provide home connections, with performance-linked payments.

Why rural broadband matters

Education: online classes and learning resources.
Health: telemedicine consultations.
Government services: digital certificates and benefits.
Business: e-commerce and digital payments.
Agriculture: weather and market information.

Satellite internet

Satellite broadband services, including new low-earth-orbit constellations, have been approved to operate in India and may help reach remote areas where fibre is too costly.

The economics

Rural broadband has large spillovers, but private companies may not capture enough of the benefits to invest alone. This is why governments use universal service funds and subsidies.

The village service centre

A village's panchayat office gets fibre broadband. A local entrepreneur runs a common service centre there, helping villagers apply for certificates, pay bills and access telemedicine. But homes a few kilometres away still rely on patchy mobile data.

Thinking connecting a village office connects the village

The last mile to homes and businesses is the hardest part and determines real use.

Key takeaways

BharatNet aims to connect about 2.5 lakh gram panchayats with optical fibre.
It faced delays, low usage and weak maintenance.
A revamped model approved in 2023 uses private operators with performance-linked payments.
Satellite broadband may help reach the most remote areas.