February 19, 2014

The Rs 13,334 crore alternate communications network that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will build for the armed forces is likely to face delay as the state-run telco is yet to finalise nearly Rs 4,800 crore of contracts for the vital optic fibre backbone package.

The Rs 4,771 crore optic fibre cable network, which will be used by the army and navy for national security requirements, was scheduled for completion in February 2014.

A senior BSNL official said that financial bids had been opened last November and the telco is trying to stick to the deadlines set by the telecom secretary. The 60,000 km optic fibre network is at the heart of the Rs 13,334 crore alternate communications backbone.

It may be mentioned that the defence telecom project is crucial, as the armed forces will migrate all communication requirements to this alternate optic fibre network and free more bandwidth for commercial telephony.