Centre extends rural telephony in Meghalaya

Shillong, Nov 7(UNI) Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, telecom connectivity will be provided to people in the rural and remote areas at affordable prices.

In Meghalaya, 1457 villages would be provided Village Public Telephone (VPTs) on wireline/fixed wireless terminals while 500 remote villages would have VPTs with Digital Satellite Phone Terminals (DSPTs).

About 44 villages have been provided VPTs as on March 31, 2006 and the remaining villages would be provided VPTs by November 2007.

About 66,822 "revenue" villages in the country shall be covered by VPTs by November 2007 with an estimated sum of Rs.451 crores.

Provision of such communication facilities would pave the way for economic development of the villages and offer new opportunities for growth.

UNI RRK JYN DB1603