BharatNet, one of the world’s
most ambitious rural broadband
projects, will have large-scale
societal and economic impact by
bringing online connectivity to 2.5
lakh gram panchayats (GPs) across
the country.
This project of national importance
will enable the realization of the
Digital India vision and other
ambitious projects of the Government
of India that will make it possible to
take Internet and telecommunication
services to every corner of the
country.
BharatNet aims to establish a highly
scalable network infrastructure
accessible on a non-discriminatory
basis, to provide on-demand
affordable broadband connectivity to
all households and ondemand
capacity to all institutions.
With its capability of designing,
building, and managing smarter
networks, Sterlite Tech is committed
to enabling this. Sterlite Tech is the
only company in India with siliconto-software integrated offerings of
optical communication products,
system and network integration, and telecom software, making it the
ideal partner to effectively lead the
BharatNet implementation.
With its potential to bring one billion
people online, BharatNet will enable
access to quality education,
healthcare, and government
services, and enable smarter
decisions around agriculture and
irrigation management, potable
water, solid-waste management,
and other critical applications in the
remotest parts of the country. Sterlite
Tech has demonstrated technology
capability in building a Digital India
through BharatNet Phase-I, several
Smart Cities, and working with the
Indian defence.
Given the coverage scale and
complexity of execution, BharatNet
is one of the largest infrastructure
projects undertaken by the
central government. The project
implementation involves multiple
government bodies at the central and
decentralized levels, agencies,
partners, and beneficiaries. This
mega project requires a technology
mix of optical fiber, radio, and
satellite to ensure the availability
of the network in different types of terrains. Sterlite Tech is already
building smarter broadband networks
in remote and inhospitable terrains of
the country, and has the expertise to
scale further.
Sterlite Tech has been a major
provider of optical fiber cables in
Phase-I of the project. A critical
need for BharatNet in Phase-I was
to expedite deployment basis timely
availability of optical fiber cables,
and Sterlite Tech prioritized optical
fiber cable manufacturing and
delivered a significant part of the
overall order to BBNL at a very short
notice.
Current Status
The Indian government has plans to
complete the BharatNet project in
three phases:
Phase-I. Connectivity to 1 lakh GPs
through underground network.
Phase-II. Connectivity to balance 1.5
lakh GPs by December 2018, with a
mix of underground, aerial, satellite,
and radio networks.
Phase-III. Upgradation of the network
with a ring architecture to meet future
infrastructure requirements for
IoT and 5G. Planned completion
by 2023. Given the scale and the
complexity of the project, however,
BharatNet has seen some delays. A
few challenges that have contributed
to the delay have been:
- Fragmented buying behavior and
involvement of multiple stakeholders
- Non-involvement of States, who are
critical collaborators for the success
of the project, in planning and
implementation
- Non-utilization of created
infrastructure in the absence of
last-mile connectivity and ICT components required for delivering
services to rural citizens
It is agreed that there needs to be
flexibility in the approach toward
execution, standardization and
empowerment of executing agencies
to expedite the project. Sterlite Tech
has taken a leadership position to
help define the governance of this
project, and has been in regular
dialogue with the ecosystem
regarding the following:
Enabling usage of laid network
under BharatNet Phase-I.Most
villages connected through
BharatNet are currently not lit; and
even those lit do not have running
service. It is important to put the
laid network under use to ensure
its upkeep. There is a strong need
for a comprehensive network
management of laid network and
enabled services on the lit network,
which needs to be an immediate
focus area of the government.
Strengthening the implementation
model and bringing
standardization for BharatNet
Phase-II. Given that multiple
agencies such as CPSUs, states,
and private players, and several
deployment methods are being
used for the roll out, there is a
need for very strong governance
led by standardization across the
network. Standardization needs
to be ensured across the entire
value chain, starting from design
and specifications to deployment
practices and network management.
Standardization and strong
governance processes will need to
be driven through a Single Point of
Contact (i.e. BBNL). Identification
of competent executing agencies
through a well structured prequalification process will ensure
timely completion of the project with
desired quality.
To ensure speed, quality of
service, and competitive cost, the
implementation and management
partner must possess critical
competencies in being able to
design, build, and manage futureproof networks. This requires
integrated capability to design
the networks, build up till last-mile
connectivity, and manage the
network to ensure service-level
agreements and quality of service.
Enabling Progressive States to
Build BharatNet Phase-III
To ensure the effective
implementation of the larger
scope of BharatNet Phase-III, it is
recommended that government
enable a few progressive states to
implement Phase- III directly. This will
work as a test ground for future mass
roll outs under BharatNet PhaseIII. Going forward, Sterlite Tech will
be a major contributor as a system
integrator to design, build, and
manage BharatNet Phases-II and
III. With its purpose of transforming
everyday living by delivering smarter
networks, Sterlite Tech is committed
to nation building. We have
partnered with the government in this
prestigious project since inception,
and are committed to designing,
building, and managing broadband
networks for the country.
Pramod Srivastava,
Vice President,
India Public Networks,
Sterlite Tech
