National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) or BharatNet is project to construct optical fibre connectivity among the 250000 grama panchayats. The programme will utilize existing fibres of PSUs (BSNL, Railtel and Power Grid) and laying incremental fibre to connect to Gram Panchayats. Dark fibre network created under NOFN will BE creating sufficient bandwidth at the Gram Panchayats. With NOFN, the connectivity gap between Gram Panchayats and Blocks will be filled.
The NOFN will give non-discriminatory connectivity or access to all the Service Providers. This will help the various providers like Telecom Service Providers(TSPs), ISPs, Cable TV operators and Content providers can launch services in rural areas. Different applications like e-health, e-education and e-governance etc. can be provided by the operators using NOFN. The NOFN project is estimated to cost about Rs. 20,000 crore and is expected to be completed by 2018. The project is funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
