Bharti Airtel to connect over 2,000 uncovered villages in North-East

Telecommunications service provider Bharti Airtel Ltd has signed an agreement with Department of Telecom and the Universal Service Obligation Fund, under which it will set up more than 2,000 mobile towers across villages and national highways in the uncovered villages of North East.

The agreement, signed on Saturday, said the company will set up these towers across the villages of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh over the next 18 months.

The company’s statement said, “Bharti Airtel has signed an agreement with DoT and the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for provision of mobile services in identified uncovered villages and national highways in the North-Eastern states of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.”

Expanding the telecom connectivity will lead to many developments in the North-Eastern states.

Airtel’s Chief Operating Officer (India and South Asia), Ajay Puri, said, “Airtel has been leading the expansion of telecom services in the Northeast and as the largest operator in these markets, we have gained deep understanding of the region. This project will provide a massive boost to telecom connectivity in these areas and truly connect them with the rest of India and the world. Customers in these areas can look forward to affordable world-class mobile services very soon.”

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For the execution of the project, the company will receive an amount of Rs 1,610 from the Universal Service Obligation Fund, the statement added.

Bharti Airtel is India’s largest telecom service provider in terms of revenue and subscriber base.