USOF is derived from a 5% levy on adjusted gross revenue of all telecom companies. The fund is used for setting up telecom infrastructure in all uncovered rural and remote areas of the country.Market leader Bharti Airtel , together with subsidiary Bharti Hexacom, got a roughly Rs1,700 crore contract to undertake the phase–II of the programme to deploy around 2,000 towers, a person familiar with the matter said. Airtel didn’t respond until press time Friday to an email seeking comment.The commission allowed six states to deploy local agencies to fast-track the BharatNet programme at an expense of Rs 7,800 crore. Andhra Pradesh , Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu , Gujarat, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh can use their own implementing agencies, the official said.It also approved Rs 18,792 crore for the second phase of the programme to provide connectivity to villages. In addition, it has decided to offer satellite-based connectivity in 30,000 villages which would be undertaken by a special purpose vehicle, Bharat Broadband Network Ltd.

Source: Economic Times September 08, 2017 14:17 UTC