Airtel to connect over 2100 uncovered villages in North East

Telecom services provider Airtel said today it will provide mobile connectivity in 2,100 uncovered villages and on national highways in north-eastern states in next 18 months.

"Bharti Airtel has signed an agreement with Department of Telecom (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," Airtel said in a statement.

Under the agreement, it said that Airtel will set up over 2,000 mobile towers/sites in unconnected pockets of the region and deliver telecom connectivity to citizens in over 2,100 villages over the next 18 months.

The deployment will also boost connectivity along important national highways in the region. Airtel would receive about Rs 1,610 crore from the USOF for executing the project.

The telecom infrastructure set up by Airtel will also enable other telecom service providers to offer services in the region, thereby, providing a major fillip to telecom connectivity in the region, which is characterised by tough terrain.