Itanagar: Around 336 villages in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh will be provided 4G mobile telephony connectivity, the government will launch 254 network towers on Saturday. The government has approved construction of 2,605 4G mobile towers to provide connectivity to over 3,721 villages in Arunachal Pradesh with a total outlay of Rs 2,675 crore.
Union Law Minister Kiren said, “Today’s launch is mostly in border areas. Overall, most of the villages will be in border areas. Our district headquarters like Itanagar are already connected. We aim to reach unconnected and inaccessible places.” ” Rijiju said after a function to dedicate the initial set of 254 mobile towers. Union Telecom and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav was also present on the occasion.
Rijiju said that security forces and people in border areas used to depend on mobile SIMs of a Nepali company for communication, but things changed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was informed about the situation. The minister said that the shrinking population due to non-availability of basic infrastructure has become a major concern.
He said that now facilities like drinking water, electricity and roads are reaching far-flung and border areas. Rijiu said that BSNL has installed 4G towers in the border area. Under this project, the government has connected those remote areas of Tawang district where Chinese soldiers have been continuously infiltrating. Rijiju said that 254 4G mobile towers would benefit 70,000 people, which is a big deal for the sparsely populated state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Rijiju said the USO Fund has identified locations for setting up 1,156 more 4G towers and under the Vibrant Village programme, even if there are 2-3 houses left in the border area, they will also be provided 4G network. Under the 4G saturation project, out of 2,424 sites for 4G services in the North East, 270 sites will be connected through optical fibre, 1,237 sites through microwave and 917 sites through VSAT. The minister said that satellite communication would be used for connectivity.
Ashwini Vaishnav said that the project involves difficult terrain, and represents the success of joint efforts and coordination. “Communication is not only important for connectivity but it opens up many avenues and opportunities,” Vaishnav said. Vaishnav said new rail projects are ready for Arunachal Pradesh, and promised that work on these would be taken forward expeditiously.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that the 254 towers will bring major connectivity benefits and transform the lives of people living in remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh. Khandu said that 1150 more towers would be operationalized as he called upon all agencies to expedite the work so that the remaining towers could be completed ahead of schedule by December 2023.