BSNL to roll out Rs 4,771 crore cable network for defence

Kalyan Parbat, ET Bureau | Nov 20, 2013, 08.17AM IST

KOLKATA: State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd will roll out an Rs 4,771-crore optic fibre cable network for the army and navy by February next year, according to an internal telecom department note seen by ET. 

A 60,000-km optic fibre network is at the heart of the Rs 13,334-crore alternate communications backbone that BSNL will build for the army and naval forces over the next two years. Purchase orders for optic fibre cable gear will be placed in two months, the note showed. 

In an internal presentation to the telecom department, BSNL has indicated it will also roll out a Rs 2,611-crore IP or 'internet protocol' network for the defence ministry by next June. This apart, it will place orders for Rs 1,300 crore of transmission systems using DWDM or dense w ave division multiplexing' technology by next March. 

Telecom PSU has offered its optic fibre cable network to set up 2,700 cameras

Telecom PSU has offered its optic fibre cable network to set up 2,700 cameras

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is likely to offer its vast optic fibre cable (OFC) network to the Chennai Police for installing 2,700 sophisticated cameras, intended to bring the entire city jurisdiction of 785 sq. km under the electronic eye.

According to police sources, BSNL engineers met Commissioner of Police S. George and explained how their OFC network, spread across the city, could provide suitable bandwidth for streaming live visuals. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had announced the proposed installation of the surveillance cameras in the Assembly in April.

With each of the 135 police stations expected to get 20 cameras, police teams are finalising the areas where they could be deployed strategically. In a few months from now, the cameras may start rolling, enabling police to have live visuals of the city. OFC technology would facilitate faster transmission of data and provide high quality video, the sources said.

“We are now using web-casting to monitor agitations or any scene of disturbance live. This helps senior officers to take decisions on traffic diversions, arrest of protesters, deployment of additional manpower etc. Also, the activities of the people at the scene are recorded,” Mr. George said.

Meanwhile, police sources said 200 camera-mounted vehicles were set to be deployed for patrolling, crowd control and traffic management purposes. In the event of an emergency, the vehicles would reach the spot within minutes and render police services besides recording the happenings there.

Once the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) network linking all the cameras is established, the focus will be on crime prevention, detection and traffic regulation. “We will effectively use the live visuals to ease traffic congestion and minimise road accidents. More than 3,000 people died in road accidents and hundreds of others were injured since 2010,” a police official said and added that the Poonnamallee High Road, GST Road, Maduravoyal Bypass Road, GNT Road and CTH Road had emerged the most treacherous stretches in recent years.