The government will issue an ordinance to amend the Indian Telegraph Act to bring mobile telephone services in the rural areas under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which has so far been restricted to wireline services. The funds will be used to create infrastructure such as towers, power supply and back-up facilities in rural and remote areas not yet covered by wireless signals. It has earmarked Rs 40-50 billion from the USOF for installing approximately 1,000 base transceiver stations. This constitutes about 70 per cent of the Rs 72 billion available through the fund.

The project targets 85 per cent coverage of the rural areas.