Work to provide high-speed Internet for all under way.

All the 13 districts in the State will be covered by high-speed Internet facility by May next year.

The overhead optical fibre cable grid project is being funded by the Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (INCAP) and is part of the government’s vision of ‘Internet for all’.

Work has already begun and a 24-core fibre optic cable is being laid using the existing electrical network system of 33 kv and 33/11 kv lines and sub-stations of the Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APEPDCL) and the Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APSPDCL).

“The cable will travel across the poles in our network and is meant to provide facilities such as Internet, TV network, and phone connection to public and government offices at a cheaper rate,” said APEPDCL Chairman and Managing Director R. Mutyala Raju.

The laying, networking, and maintenance of the project is given to Hyderabad-based firm Tera Software, and the estimated cost of the project is said to be about Rs.326 crore.

All sub-stations under the Discoms will be used as ‘point of service’ stations or local control rooms, from where local cable TV operators would be able to provide connection to their customers.

It is estimated that each cable operator will be able to provide a minimum of about 250 HD channels at a cost of about Rs.150 per household.

THE HINDU