The NOFN project aims to connect over 250,000 gram panchayats (local government institutions in villages or small towns) across India. The aim is to sow the seeds for an e-revolution in the rural parts of the country by empowering the nation to provide better e-governance, e-health services, and educational services at the grass roots level. Scheduled to be complete by September 2015, the project will provide high-speed broadband Internet to all 250,000 gram panchayats with speeds of up to 100 Mbps.
The NOFN project is being rolled out by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), the special-purpose vehicle setup under India's Department of Telecom. BBNL has divided the project into six packages – East, West, North, South, Central, and Northeast – and separate bids have been accepted in each of the six zones. The total value of this project has been set at $3.3 billion.