The Centre on April 19,2023, said that it was working on development of around 10,000 km of optic fibre cables (OFC) infrastructure across the country by FY2024-25. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working towards development of around 10,000 km of optic fibre cables (OFC) infrastructure across the country by FY2024-25.
The National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), a fully owned SPV of the NHAI, will implement the network of digital highways by developing integrated utility corridors along the national highways to develop OFC infrastructure. Around 1,367 km on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and 512-km on the Hyderabad-Bangalore corridor have been identified as pilot routes for the digital highway development. The Recently inaugurated, 246-km long Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway features a three-metre-wide dedicated utility corridor used to lay optical fibre cables, which will serve as the backbone for the roll out of the 5G network in the region.
“Providing internet connectivity to remote locations across the country, the OFC network will help to expedite the roll out of new age telecom technologies like 5G and 6G,” the road transport ministry said in a statement. The OFC laying work along the national highways has started and is targeted for completion in about a year.
The OFC network will allow direct plug-and-play or a fibre-on-demand model for the telecommunication/ internet services. The network will be leased out on a fixed price allotment mechanism on ‘open for all’ basis through a web portal to eligible users. The OFC allotment policy is being finalised in consultation with the department of telecommunication and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
| Got any questions or point of view on our article? We would love to hear from you. Write to our Editor-in-Chief Jhumur Ghosh at jhumur.ghosh1@housing.com |
