Digital connectivity in Arunachal border villages

The mobile connectivity in remote border villages in Arunachal Pradesh is poised for a giant leap with the official announcement of providing 4G connectivity to 1683 border villages in the state bordering China, Myanmar and Bhutan by December next year. Apart from bridging the digital divide, rolling out 4G services will unlock tremendous opportunities, including the creation of jobs, growth in agriculture and other business and better access to health and education in these border villages. The deletion of a key network security clause related to mobile services by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in August cleared the decks for this groundbreaking initiative. This clause required mobile service operators to ensure that their base stations, cell sites, and radio transmitters are located at a considerable distance away from the international border so that mobile signals are faded out when nearing or about crossing the international border and become unusable within a reasonable distance across such border. This clause also reflected the security outlook of previous central governments of not undertaking the development of mobile connectivity in areas along the China border. This also explains why the move to provide mobile connectivity in these border villages came after more than two decades of the Universal Service Support Policy coming into effect in April 2002. The policy envisages the provision of telecom facilities in rural and remote areas of the country. The ambitious project will be implemented with funds collected from telecom service providers under the Universal Support Service Obligation Fund (USOF), the rules of administration of which were notified in 2004. The fund is raised through a 'Universal Access Levy' (UAL), which is a percentage of the revenue earned by mobile service operators under various licences. As on August 31, the USOF has a balance of Rs 59736 crore while Rs 437 crore has been collected through UAL and Rs 546 crore have been disbursed in the current financial year, and hence there will be no dearth of funds for undertaking 4G services in border villages of Arunachal Pradesh. The Union Cabinet gave its approval in December 2020 for the provision of the USOF scheme for providing mobile coverage to 2374 uncovered villages in the Northeast, including 1683 in Arunachal Pradesh and 691 in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts in Assam at an estimated cost of Rs 2,029 crore, including operational expenses for five years which assures steady fund flow for this strategically important project. The improved digital connectivity along the international border along with ongoing projects of the Trans-Arunachal Highway and two other strategic corridor projects and interconnectivity between these corridors will end the isolation of remote villages. Early completion of these strategic highways is also critical for laying Optical Fibre Cables for providing 4G connectivity services in remote villages along the international border. There can be no room for complacency as China has rolled out 5G services along the Line of Actual Control. Improved digital connectivity will also go a long way in improving the implementation of the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) in Arunachal Pradesh by facilitating e-governance for better service deliveries to residents of remote and isolated border villages. The BADP is implemented in 46 border blocks in 15 districts covering 1944 villages with a total 3.91 lakh population for development in education, health, agriculture and allied activities, infrastructure and skill development. The BADP, a centrally-sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Home Affairs with the Central government's share of 90% and the state government sharing 10%, covers all census villages, urban or semi-urban areas within 0-10 km of the international border and can be extended up to 50 km from the border if the development needs in 0-10 km are saturated. Despite such development intervention, outmigration migration of people from border villages in Arunachal Pradesh in search of better livelihood and opportunities has been a cause of concern for the State government and security forces as saturation of these border villages with people and adequate infrastructure is strategically very important for the country. The provision of smooth and faster mobile connectivity will facilitate IT-enabled business growth. It will help young entrepreneurs in border villages to market their organic agricultural and horticultural produce, and traditional handicraft items through digital channels, tie-up with online marketplaces to fetch better returns and ensure remunerative prices to producers. Improved road connectivity will facilitate smooth access to domestic and export markets. The provision of faster internet connectivity will facilitate students in these villages to get access to vast learning resources for quality education and facilitate teachers to make use of digital technology to improve the teaching-learning process so that students are trained and motivated to choose careers of their choice. Imparting skill training to youth, and digital and financial literacy to villagers ahead of the rollout of 4G services will ensure optimal utilisation of digital connectivity. The paradigm shift in mobile connectivity for border areas promises a new dawn in the Land of the Rising Sun.