HFCL has been awarded an advance work order worth approx. Rs 2,501.30 crore by Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) for the BharatNet Phase III project in the Punjab Telecom Circle.
The contract, announced on 16 January, 2025, involves designing, building, operating, and maintaining the middle-mile network under a Design Build Operate and Maintain (DBOM) model. The project includes a three-year construction phase followed by a ten-year maintenance period. It comprises Rs 1,244.61 crore for capital expenditure and Rs 1,256.70 crore for operational expenditure.
This initiative is part of BharatNet Phase III, aimed at providing high-speed internet to 6,40,000 villages and ensuring a minimum bandwidth of 100 Mbps to over 2,50,000 gram panchayats, towards expanding rural and underserved area connectivity.