Panaji: State govt’s Har Ghar Fibre project, launched more than a year ago, is currently limited to Sanquelim constituency and parts of Bicholim, with the work expected to be completed and made operational within 270 days.Though projected as a state-wide initiative, the department for information technology, electronics and communication has clarified that the ongoing implementation covers only the two identified areas. The contract was awarded in April to Nupur Technologies, the lowest bidder.IT minister Rohan Khaunte said the project had been initiated and that the required infrastructure was “in process”.The project involves laying an underground optical fibre cable network and undertaking its testing, commissioning, operation and maintenance to provide high-speed fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity to households in the identified areas.The project is being implemented through the Goa Information Technology Development Corporation (GITDC). Centre had sanctioned a Rs 50 crore loan for the project in Oct 2022 under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment for 2022-23.Khaunte had earlier promised a new fibre network across Goa under Centre’s BharatNet programme. Goa was the first state in the country to successfully connect most village panchayats to taluka headquarters through a public-private partnership model in 2009.However, the existing Goa Broadband Network (GBBN) is now operating on outdated equipment that is out of warranty, making a new network necessary.
