HFCL Limited has won an Advance Work Order worth approximately ₹2,501.30 crore from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for the BharatNet Phase III project in Punjab. The contract, announced on January 16, 2025, covers the design, construction, and maintenance of the middle-mile network in the Punjab Telecom Circle.

The shares of HFCL Limited were trading at ₹102.74 up by ₹0.40 or 0.39 per cent on the NSE today at 11.47 am.

The project will be executed on a Design Build Operate and Maintain (DBOM) model, with a three-year construction period followed by a 10-year maintenance contract. The total order value includes capital expenditure of ₹1,244.61 crore and operational expenditure of ₹1,256.70 crore, split between maintenance of new and existing networks.

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As part of the larger BharatNet Phase III initiative, this project contributes to the national goal of connecting 640,000 Indian villages with high-speed internet. The program aims to provide a minimum bandwidth of 100 Mbps to over 250,000 gram panchayats.

The maintenance contract terms specify charges of 5.5 per cent per annum of capital expenditure for the first five years, increasing to 6.5 per cent for the subsequent five years. This development represents a significant step in the government’s Digital India initiative, focusing on expanding digital connectivity to rural and underserved areas.

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