Tender to provide connectivity in remote, strategic, border areas under implementation by DoT: Prasad

New Delhi [India], August 10 (ANI): A tender to provide mobile connectivity in remote, strategic and border areas of the country has been finalised and is under implementation by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), said Union Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad here on Monday.
The Communications Minister said tender for 354 uncovered villages in strategic, remote and border areas is finalised and is under implementation in J-K and Ladakh, in 144 villages of Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, Himachal and priority areas of Gujarat.
Prasad added that these villages have been strategically chosen to cover border area connectivity on mobile. After commissioning of these villages, there will be no uncovered villages in UTs of J-K and Ladakh for mobile connectivity.
Prasad said this while speaking to the media after the inauguration of a submarine Optical Fiber Cable of 2,300 kilometers length between Chennai and Andaman Nicobar at a cost of Rs 1,224 crores, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Apart from this, satellite-based DSPTs (Digital Satellite Phone Terminal) are also being provided at 1,347 sites for army, BRO, BSF, CRPF, ITBP and SSB. Out of which 183 sites are already commissioned and remaining are in process.
Prasad further said the DoT is also working on providing mobile connectivity in villages of 24 aspirational districts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and remaining 44 aspirational districts for 7,287 uncovered villages in Chhatisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh will also be covered, for which government approval is under submission. (ANI)