The Indian government's BhartatNet national broadband project has been extended to more than 100,000 gram panchayats (village council areas) as part of the first phase of the rollout.
As of this week the network is service ready at 101,370 gram panchayats, and the second phase of the project has commenced, the Economic Timesreported.
Around 255,000km of fiber has been deployed as part of the project, with 800km of fiber being laid per day for 250 consecutive days, which the government asserts is a global record.
The government has meanwhile secured commitments from operators to provide services to 70,000 village blocks using the fiber network.
The second phase of the initiative has a projected budget of 310 billion rupees ($4.8 billion) and will target connecting the remaining 150,000 gram panchayats by March 2019.
The proposal also involves broadband delivery through satellite at 5,300 locations nationwide as well as potential wireless and aerial fiber deployments.
The BharatNet project was conceived by the former UPA-II government in 2011 but has faced delays due to various localized challenges. The project is being funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund.