The Union Ministry of Transport plans to invest over Rs 60 billion to develop an optical fibre cable (OFC) infrastructure along 25,000 km of national highways in the next few years.

The ministry has already invited tenders for the development of OFC infrastructure along two pilot projects: the Hyderabad-Bangalore National Highway and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which have a combined length of 2,000 km, at a cost of Rs 5 billion.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway passes through 23 districts and impacts a population of approximately 65.8 million, while the Hyderabad-Bangalore National Highway impacts a population of approximately 36 million. If the pilot project proves financially sustainable, the government plans to scale up the leased OFC infrastructure to 25,000 km in the next three years.

The OFC infrastructure will be designed to cater to increased data volumes till 2050. This initiative will significantly boost the 5G rollout across the nation and improve the ease of doing business in India, as private players will no longer need to wait for acquiring clearances for right-of-way and environmental clearances.

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