Vihaan Network Limited, an indigenous telecom equipment manufacturer, has bagged Rs. 16480 million telecom infrastructure project from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, for providing connectivity in over 4000 villages in remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

Emerging as the lowest bidder in the tender opened for the first phase of the project by BSNL, VNL will get whole of Arunachal Pradesh which will be around 70 per cent share in the first phase of the North East mobile connectivity.

This project is part of the Rs. 5,3361.80 million worth Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region (NER) comprising 8 states which was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2014. The project envisages providing mobile coverage in 8,621 unconnected villages and seamless coverage along National Highways in the North-East region through 6,673 towers and will be funded from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

VNL, India’s leading telecommunication enabler with recognized expertise in indigenously developing end-to-end telecom infrastructure products and solutions has been given the responsibility of creating the infrastructure across bordering state of Arunachal Pradesh while the other partner will execute the project in two districts (Karbi Anglong & Dima Haso) of Assam.

Under the Phase-I of the project, which is to be executed by state owned operator BSNL, 2817 sites are to be installed to cover 4118 remotely located villages and tough terrains in Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam. Projects are to be executed solely through indigenous technology. As per the project condition, the lowest bidder, Vihaan Networks (VNL) in this case, will get to roll out around 1,893 mobile towers in Arunachal Pradesh.