BSNL plans 30,000 broadband kiosks in 2 years

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd will set up 30,000 broadband kiosks in rural and remote areas in the next two years on a franchisee basis.

"The aim is to build a network of around 30,000 broadband kiosks across India within a period of two years. We will set up the kiosks through franchisee in rural areas," a senior BSNL official said on Monday.

These kiosks would extend broadband connectivity to those who have no alternative access to the facility, and to those who have little to spend on such services. The rural people shall pay a small fees to access the services, the official said.

BSNL is the largest broadband Internet service provider in the country with a subscriber base of 3.9 million. The PSU telecom company also plans to introduce broadband service on wireless access this year.

The company intends to set up a 3-tier business model to make the broadband enabled services available to the rural population.

The BSNL network is divided into four zones (East, North, West, South) and a partner will be selected for each zone.

Each Kiosk is expected to turn into a self sustaining model over a period of three years, the official said.

The company is currently in the process of setting up broadband access equipment in all rural exchanges from where the wireline connectivity will be extended.