“The recently launched phase III of BharatNet marks a significant shift in strategy,” said Subburathinam P, chief strategy officer at TeamLease Services. “This phase prioritises last-mile connectivity through innovative solutions such as Wi-Fi hotspots (2-5 per gram panchayat) and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services. Targeting 6.25 lakh villages, phase III leverages public-private partnerships (PPP) and advanced technologies to deliver high-speed internet of 100 Mbps or more.”
He said BharatNet’s rollout will catalyse job creation for roles like fibre technicians, NOC (network operations centre) staff, and indirect roles such as installation and repair technicians, and customer support professionals.
“Additionally, fibre-sharing agreements with other partners are anticipated to scale up, further enhancing, State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) had opened bids for BharatNet phase III in August. Soon after, private players including HFCL, Sterlite Technologies (STL), Polycab and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) had announced that they had emerged as lowest bidders in separate state-wide tenders to provide middle-mile connectivity.
STL said its Rs 2,500 crore was the lowest L1 bid in Jammu and Kashmir, Polycab said it was the lowest in Goa, Puducherry and Karnataka at Rs 5,649 crore, while the HFCL-RVNL consortium said it bid the least in several states for Rs 5,000 crore. The companies are undergoing financial and technical analysis before the final tenders are awarded.
“The third phase is different from the previous two phases, both in terms of project structure and network deployments,” said Mahendra Nahata, managing director of HFCL.
