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Goa has unveiled plans for a super-ambitious broadband network project to build a state that’s “enabled by IT to be efficient and accountable with a global thinking approach”.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the Goa Broadband Network (GBBN) on Friday amid both expectations and apprehensions as to how exactly the project will work and at what cost.

Previously named “Goa Net”, the Broadband Network project will provide privileges to citizens, including information around education, health care, agriculture, welfare, entertainment, IP telephony, and video conferencing. It will also provide e-governance and B2C (business-to-citizen) services. In a bid to bring in greater efficiency, the network will be rolled-out to nearly 280 government offices, including municipalities, the collectorate, and the state secretariat.

Lauding the project, the prime minister said: “This pioneering project is an important milestone in the use of modern telecommunications and IT capabilities for improving public services and also the quality of lives.”

“As the program scales up from the 10 Citizen Service Centres today to over 200 by the end of next year, it will generate substantial revenues which will meet a major portion of the costs,” Singh said.

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