Background

India’s heart lives in its 600,000+ villages, dotted ubiquitously across 32.87 million sq. km of its geographical area. The world’s sixth largest economy is on a mission to accomplish complete digitization by taking broadband connectivity to the furthest mile and the last man in its villages.

The Government of India has set up a dedicated company – Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), for the development, deployment, and operation of the National Optical Fiber Network. BBNL continues to engage several communication network developers to fast accomplish the mammoth task under their flagship ‘Bharat-Net’ campaign.

HFCL won a $175 million order for developing and delivering digital communication networks in Punjab (Northern India) and Jharkhand (Eastern India). HFCL’s successful competitive bid also entailed connecting 3209 and 1789 villages across Punjab and Jharkhand, respectively.

HFCL Solution

Considering the scale and geographic challenges, HFCL formed a 65-member cross-functional team with project management, network design, and technology specialists for equipment selection, supply chain management, and field execution. The team lined up a network of sub- contractors to support the project and sought closer cooperation from Company’s Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) Plants at Goa and Chennai for a timely supply of 16,830 fiber km of OFC.

The team deployed advanced digital tools & analytics for surveys, capturing reports, project management, customer sign-offs, acceptance testing, and a host of other processes.

Project highlights

  • End-to-end project delivery, including planning, network design, equipment selection, execution, field integration, installation, and commissioning.
  • Requirement analysis as per physical route survey.
  • Network design in line with survey inputs and optimization possibilities.
  • Deployment of both – underground and overhead – OFC outlays.
  • Supply, installation & commissioning of equipment, OFC, and accessories.
  • Training & network handover  Network quality audit.
  • Spare part management, O&M Services, and Warranty/AMC Support.

The Outcome

For a project to be successful, it is necessary to plan the right workforce, tools, and resources on the ground; the same was carried out as follows:

  • Nearly 5,000 villages went digital en bloc
  • Residents empowered to avail of benefits such as e-governance, digital transaction, digital literacy, and telemedicine, among others