Kavach 3.2 version is being installed on approved high-density routes, the railway officials said, adding that upgrading and installation of the latest version on new routes will go on simultaneously to cover a wider railway network in a shorter period.
Under the pact, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries' telecom arm will hire nationwide optical fibre network of Reliance Communications for the roll-out of 4G services.
After being at loggerheads for 8 years, Ambani brothers have sealed a Rs 1,200-crore (Rs 12-billion) deal wherein Mukesh will use his younger sibling's optic fibre network for launch of his telecom venture.
It has been over two decades since the cabinet cleared the BharatNet project, earlier known as National Optical Fibre Network. However, progress of the programme has been slow. While the government had set the target of connecting 100,000 gram panchayats by 2013, it took another four years to achieve this target in December 2017. Progress under the current administration has improved, but the government has again missed its targets.
Anil Ambani Group firm Flag Telecom on Monday announced the acquisition of US-based Ethernet services provider Yipes Communications for 300 million dollars (Rs 1,200 crore) in cash.
Broadband connectivity to villages has been lagging, with delay in laying of an optical fibre network up to gram panchayats
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is learnt to have approached Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for additional funds to carry out schemes committed under Universal Services Obligation fund scheme.
Mukesh and Anil will announce two more infrastructure-sharing agreements by mid-June.
The amount from securitisation has been utilised to repay rupee debt, saving significant interest costs for the company.
The idea is to reduce capital investments and improve profitability.
According to sources in the know, Anil Ambani-led RCom will be providing all infrastructure - towers, fibre, backhaul as well as its national and international long distance facilities-- to RIL's high-speed broadband services.
Right after it returned to the telecom sector by acquiring Infotel Broadband, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL) began discussions with brother Anil Ambani's mobile service provider, Reliance Communications (RCom), for a possible sharing of infrastructure.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country needs to focus on imparting skills to its young population in order to compete with China, apart from bringing revolutionary changes in agriculture and energy sectors.
Department of telecommunications has set up a committee to look into the issue of escalating cost for the project.
The principal delay is because the defence forces, which are expected to vacate some spectrum for mobile service providers, are yet to identify locations for some sites for an alternative optic fibre network that is being developed for them.
Reliance Infocomm has started its broadband operations with the launch of Digital Electronic News Gathering service that enables TV channels to broadcast quality news video from a remote location to the studio directly.
Reliance Infocomm Ltd is to roll out its broadband initiative in the next 12-24 months in the country and is scouting for partners for digital distribution of the content.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a Rs 100 lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity that aims to develop infrastructure to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy. PM Gati Shakti targets to cut logistic costs, increase cargo handling capacity and reduce the turnaround time, Modi said at a function to launch the plan. The plan aims to lend more power and speed to projects by connecting all concerned departments on one platform, he said, adding the infrastructure schemes of various ministries and state governments will be designed and executed with a common vision.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees India as a "bright spot" in the global economy and as per the World Bank, India is in a better position to deal with the global headwinds than many other countries. This is because of India's strong "macroeconomic fundamentals", Modi said while virtually addressing the inaugural function of the 7th edition of Invest Madhya Pradesh-Global Investors Summit in Indore. In the past eight years, the government has increased the speed of reforms and removed many hurdles in the way of investments.
IMD is preparing a concept paper on narrowing its grid resolution from 22 sq km to 10 sq km.
Resignations of Anil Ambani and four other directors were conveyed to the CoC of RCom in its meeting on November 20 and were unanimously rejected.
The government is planning to merge Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) with the loss-making state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) this month, a senior official has said. BSNL chairman and managing director PK Purwar at a recent event organised by the All India Graduate Engineers and Telecom officers Association (AIGETOA) said that the government is giving the telecom firm an opportunity for a turnaround. "The government has taken a policy decision that BBNL is going to be merged into BSNL. "This means all work of BBNL at the pan-India level is going to come to BSNL," Purwar said at the All India Conference of AIGETOA on March 13.
The network has been built by six telcos to handle high bandwidth demands of emerging technologies and applications.
A DoT panel has suggested completely opening up the telecom sector to foreign direct investment, a move which is expected to bring in fresh funds into the industry that is facing a financial crisis.
UP East tops number of rural internet users; Urban internet subscriber base stands at 231 million, rural at 112 million
"Those who ruled for decades since Independence believed Dispur was too distant from Delhi. 'Dilli ab door nahi aapke darwaaze par hai' (Delhi is not far now, it stands at your doorstep," he told a massive gathering.
The development comes a day after RCom posted a consolidated loss of Rs 30,142 crore for July-September 2019 due to provisioning for liabilities after the Supreme Court ruling on statutory dues.
The company added 95 lakh new 4G subscribers taking its total 4G subscriber base to 7.53 crore inching closer to its peer Bharti Airtel which reported 4G customer base of 7.7 crore.
Other than Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal, call centres would come up in Assam, Manipur, Tripura.
Reliance Jio Infocomm is the only company which had in 2010 won a pan-India spectrum for 4G services but is yet to start commercial services.
On Monday, Ambani had said the Reliance group was open to join hands with Bharti Airtel for improving telecom network for 4G services in Punjab.
The world's biggest social network Facebook wants to connect more people to internet in India which accounts for the third largest online user base globally after China and the US but has a very low internet penetration growth rate.
In the third infrastructure sharing agreement between firms run by brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Reliance Industries' telecom arm has agreed to use Reliance Communication Ltd's intra-city fibre network to roll out 4G services.
India is ranked below Bhutan and Sri Lanka in terms of broadband penetration, says TRAI.
This would be the first visit to India as Google CEO.
Modi said the government aimed at spreading digital literacy across rural India.
Fast paced growth in computer literacy and greater use of data on mobiles will help India's Internet economy grow to $200 billion or 5 per cent of the GDP by 2020.
Privatise the railway stations and modernise them, urged Modi.
Chinese equipment contracts had been given by many public sector undertakings and government companies for their networks, even in sensitive places such as the north east.