Apart from the higher capital cost of providing telecom services in rural and remote areas, these areas also generate lower revenue due to lower population density, low income and lack of commercial activity. Thus normal market forces alone would not direct the telecom sector to adequately serve backward and rural areas. Keeping in mind the inadequacy of the market mechanism to serve rural and inaccessible areas on one hand and the importance of providing vital telecom connectivity on the other, most countries of the world have put in place policies to provide Universal Access and Universal Service to ICT.  

The New Telecom Policy - 1999 (NTP’99) provided that the resources for meeting the Universal Service Obligation (USO) would be raised through a ‘Universal Access Levy (UAL)’, which would be a percentage of the revenue earned by the operators under various licenses. The Universal Service Support Policy came into effect from 01.04.2002. The Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 giving statutory status to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was passed by both Houses of Parliament in December 2003. The Rules for administration of the Fund known as Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2004 were notified on 26.03.2004. As per the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 (as amended in 2003, 2006 and 2008), the Fund is to be utilized exclusively for meeting the Universal Service Obligation.

As per the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2004 which came into effect on 26.03.04, (and were subsequently amended in November 2006 and July 2008) the following services shall be supported by the Fund, namely:-

Stream-1: Provision of Public Access Service:

 (a) Operation and Maintenance of Village Public Telephones (VPT) in the revenue villages identified as per Census 1991 and Installation of VPTs in the additional revenue villages as per Census 2001 (O&M of VPTs, New VPTs PhaseI, , New VPTs PhaseII).

 

(b)Provision of Rural Community Phones (RCPs) after achieving the target of one VPT in every revenue village where in a village the population is more than 2000 and no public call office (PCO) exists, a second public phone shall be installed (Rural Community

Phones (RCPs)).

  (c) Replacement of Multi Access Radio Relay Technology (MARR) VPTs installed before the 1st day of April 2002 (MARR VPTs (1.4.O2 to 3.6.O3), MARR VPTs (w.e.f 1.7.03) ).

Stream-II: Provision of Household Telephones in Rural and Remote Areas as may be Determined by the Central Government from Time to Time:

 

(a) For rural household DELs (RDELs) installed prior to 1st day of April, 2002, support towards the difference in rental actually charged from rural subscribers and rent prescribed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for such subscribers shall be reimbursed until such time the ADC prescribed by TRAI from time to time takes into account this difference. Also following the phasing out of the ADC Regime, support for a limited duration of three years for rural wire line RDELs installed prior to 01.04.02. (RDELs PRIOR TO 1.4.O2).

  (b) Support for RDELs installed after the 1st day of April, 2002 (RDELs (1.4.O2 to 31.3.05), RDELs (w.e.f 1.4.O5)).

 Stream-III:

 Creation of Infrastructure for provision of Mobile Services in Rural and Remote Areas. The assets constituting the infrastructure for provision of mobile services shall be determined by the Central Government from time to time (Mobile Infrastructure (Phase-I)).

 Stream-IV:

  Provision of Broadband Connectivity to rural & remote areas in a phased manner (Wire

Line Broadband, Rural Public Service Terminals (RPST)). 

Stream-V:

 

Creation of General Infrastructure in Rural and Remote Areas for Development of Telecommunication facilities. The items of general infrastructure to be taken up for development shall be determined by the Central Government from time to time (Optical

Fiber Cable(OFC) for Assam).  

Stream-VI:

 

Induction of new technological developments in the telecom sector in Rural and Remote Areas: Pilot projects to establish new technological developments in the telecom sector, which can be deployed in the Rural and Remote Areas, may be supported with the approval of the Central Government (Solar Mobile Charging Facility(SMCF)).

Initially, as per Indian Telegraph Rules 2004, USOF Administration was permitted to provide public access and individual access to "basic" service facilities only. These fell under the purview of Stream I and Stream II respectively. Keeping in view the extraordinary urban mobile revolution in India, it was appreciated that there is a need for supporting rural mobile telephony as this would enable faster penetration of services into the rural areas. Accordingly, DOT initiated action to bring mobile services within the ambit of USOF activities. The Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2006 was passed on 29.12.2006 to enable the USOF to support mobile services and broadband connectivity in rural and remote areas. Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules 2006 introduced a number of new schemes under Stream III-VI, dealing with provision of all types of rural telecom infrastructure.Ground already covered includes:

Public Access

 The provision of public access facilities by way of Village Public Telephones (VPTs) and Rural Community Phones (RCPs). USOF Administration of India is committed to providing/maintaining a VPT in every revenue village as per the Census 1991 and Census 2001(O&M of VPTs, New VPTs PhaseI, New VPTs PhaseII, MARR VPTs (1.4.O2 to 3.6.O3), MARR VPTs (w.e.f 1.7.03)).

 Further, every 1991 Census Revenue village with a population of more than 2000 and no existing PCO is to be provided with an additional public telephone by way of a RCP(Rural Community Phones (RCPs)). Individual Access

 

One time subsidy support for 9 million Rural Household Direct Exchange Lines (RDELs) was provided. This was by way of the difference in the rental as per tariff prescribed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the actual rental charged by the Universal Service Provider (USP). A subsidy support is being provided for a limited duration of three years for wire line RDELs installed prior to 1.4.O2 w.e.f 18 July 2008 (RDELs PRIOR TO 1.4.O2).

 Subsidy is being provided for 1.86 million RDELs already installed between 1.4.02 and 31.3.05 in 1685 net cost positive Short Distance Charging Areas (SDCAs)(RDELs (1.4.O2 to

31.3.05)).

 

Subsidy support is also being extended to RDELs installed between 1.4.05 and 31.3.07 in 1685 net cost positive SDCAs. By 31.3.07, about 2.56 million RDELs had been provided under this scheme. Period of installation of RDELs under this scheme now stands extended up to 31.3.2010. (RDELs (w.e.f 1.4.O5))

Mobile Infrastructure

 

Under this initiative, about 7327 mobile infrastructure sites spread across 500 districts and 28 states of India are being rolled out. This scheme will provide mobile services to about 0.2 million villages which were hitherto deprived of the same. It is a unique initiative as it is based on sharing of subsidized passive infrastructure (tower, boundary wall, electric connection, power backup, security cabin etc) by three telecom service providers who will put up their own subsidized active infrastructure (BTS. Antenna, Backhaul) and roll out wireless services.(Mobile Infrastructure (Phase-I))

 It is also proposed to shortly roll out the second phase of the scheme whereby about 10,000 towers shall be set up with USOF support to cover uncovered villages/cluster of villages having population of more than 5000 or more with mobile services.Pilot Project Scheme

 

A scheme to induct new technologies on pilot basis has been launched. Subsidy will be provided to demonstrate new technology through pilot projects in areas of broadband, fixed/wireless telephony, transmission media, hybrid power, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) etc. It will be a tripartite effort amongst the technology provider, Telecom Service provider (TSP) and USOF Administration. The project must function for at least three months for proper impact assessment. Project results are to be certified by TEC/CDOT/IIT. A seminar will be held to share and disseminate results. The upper limit of USOF assistance per project is Rs. 0.5Million. Scheme for providing Broadband Connectivity in Rural Areas

 

The scheme envisages leveraging existing telecom infrastructure (wireless, landline and satellite) to provide broadband connectivity in rural and remote areas. Schools, Common Service Centres, Primary Health Centres, Panchayats etc. and individuals in rural areas will benefit from the scheme.

 

  The Wire Line Broadband Scheme: An Agreement has been signed with BSNL in January 2009 for provision of rural (wire line) broadband from about 28,000 rural wire line exchanges spread across the country. Apart from subsidized broadband connections for individuals and government institutes and preferential connectivity for women’s self help groups (SHGs), one broadband kiosk for public access shall also be provided from each eligible rural wire line exchange. Under this Scheme, subsidy support is being provided for broadband connectivity, CPEs and Computers.

 

  The Rural Public Service Terminal Pilot for Financial Inclusion and VAS: As an adjunct to the Wire Line Broadband scheme, a pilot scheme for subsidy support towards broadband enabled Rural Public Service Terminals (RPSTs) is under consideration. It is envisaged that the subsidized RPSTs shall enable SHGs in selected districts to provide secure banking services and various Value Added Services (VAS) to the rural public.Scheme for Augmentation of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) Network connecting the Block Headquarters:

 

To provide adequate back haul for voice and data traffic in rural areas, USOF proposes to subsidise the augmentation /creation of the required rural OFC network capacity. To begin with it has been decided to improve the OFC network between the Block HQs and the District HQs.

 

Scheme for Intra-District OFC Connectivity in Assam: The Service Area of Assam has been taken up first and an Agreement has been signed with the selected USP i.e. BSNL in February 2010. As per this Agreement, BSNL shall share the subsidised intra-district OFC bandwidth capacity with other service providers at the prescribed discounted rates. It is expected that the availability of high capacity backhaul at discounted rates would greatly encourage the growth of voice and data services in the region (Optical Fiber

Cable(OFC) for Assam). Renewable Energy Initiatives

   Provision of Solar Chargers for CDMA FWT VPTs :- All new FWT based VPTs

being supported by USOF are to be provided with solar chargers. Also, under joint MNRE and USOF support, about 50,000 existing CDMA FWT based VPTs are being provided with subsidized solar chargers with the aim of ensuring their sustained and effective functioning.

 

Pilot Projects to establish the Viability of Powering of Shared Mobile Infrastructure Sites in Rural Areas through Solar/Solar-Wind Hybrid Installations :- Subsidy support from MNRE and USOF shall be provided towards solar/solar-wind hybrid power installations in USOF‘s shared mobile infrastructure sites (one in each state). The results obtained from these 28 sites will help establish technical feasibility and financial viability of utilization of renewable energy in shared mobile sites in rural areas.

 

Pilot Project for Establishment of Rural Solar Mobile Charging Facilities (SMCFs)  :- Support shall be provided for rural solar mobile charging stations in 5000 villages through TERI’s Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL) project. The SMCFs shall be run by village entrepreneurs who shall recover nominal fees from the rural public towards charging of mobile phones (Solar Mobile Charging Facility(SMCF)).

Activities under FormulationNext Phase of Mobile Infrastructure Scheme to cover villages/clusters with more than 500 population Schemes for wireless broadband connectivity and for broadband connectivity on satellite media for remote areas where terrestrial connectivity is not possible Extending OFC scheme to West Bengal, and North Eastern States of Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya followed by remaining states in a phased manner.

 USOF Administration would be initiating activities to further incentivize the penetration of public access facilities and mobile and broadband infrastructure into still more remote areas/ smaller villages. We have Miles to Go…….

 USOF Administration appreciates that with technological advancements, new developments in the Indian telecom sector and in keeping with the growing aspirations of the target population and their need for better ICT connectivity, its focus will also need to undergo changes.

USOF may support various new schemes towards:

 Active use of new and renewable energy in rural telecommunications

 Fibre to the Village

 Upgrading rural telecommunications infrastructure e.g. Next Generation Networks (NGN)

Our future plans will always be guided by lessons learnt from the implementation of USOF Schemes and the desire to continuously improve upon our performance. In this Endeavour, we will measure our success against our objective of placing state of art ICT services within the reach and the means of the inhabitants of rural and remote parts of the country.