In a major push to connect the unconnected, the Odisha government has launched an ambitious initiative to install 4G mobile towers at 707 new locations across the state, with a special focus on remote, tribal, and underserved rural regions.
This significant expansion, funded under the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), aims to deliver reliable mobile connectivity to thousands of villages that have long remained on the fringes of the digital revolution.
The project is expected to transform lives by enabling seamless access to education, telemedicine, e-governance services, digital banking, and online marketplaces — bringing “new power” to digital inclusion in Odisha’s heartlands.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Electronics & Information Technology Department, Vishal Kumar Dev, has written to Collectors of 25 districts, urging them to expedite the allotment of government land (approximately 2,000 sq ft per site) and issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to BSNL at the earliest. So far, NOCs have already been granted for 294 sites, and work on those towers is progressing rapidly.
The initiative has received strong appreciation from the state’s IT & Electronics Minister, Dr Mukesh Mahaling, who thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visionary Digital India mission and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for his focused efforts in taking technology to the last mile.
Speaking on the development, officials highlighted that this 4G saturation project will significantly strengthen mobile services in difficult terrains and accelerate digital empowerment.
Complementing the tower project is the BharatNet Phase-3 initiative. Under this, the Centre will invest nearly ₹4,000 crore in rural Odisha over the next three years to provide high-speed optical fibre connectivity from blocks to panchayats and eventually to individual households.
This integrated approach — robust 4G coverage plus fibre backbone — is set to revolutionise grassroots digital infrastructure in the state.
