After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Bhutan of support in the light of the recent controversy over India cutting fuel subsidies to the kingdom, RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways, has been given the task of setting up Bhutan’s national broadband internet network. RailTel will lay the broadband network connecting all government institutes and the universities in Bhutan to help the country overcome its networking shortcomings and bring a more coordinated approach to development.
The move came immediately after the opposition People?s Democratic Party, which promised stronger ties with New Delhi in its election campaign, won 32 of the 47 seats in Parliament.
?We will set up the data network in Bhutan. A national internet network would be laid connecting their government offices, universities and other important institutions. An agreement has been signed with the ministry of information and communications, Bhutan,? a senior railway ministry official told FE.
New Delhi in recent years has become increasingly concerned about Bhutan’s growing relationship with China. Bhutan accounts for over half of India?s foreign development assistance at R3,600 crore. For Bhutan?s 10th Five-Year Plan, India had promised a total package of R3,400 crore. Bhutan?s main income has been from selling electricity to India through various hydropower projects. Nearly 75% of Bhutan?s total imports in 2010 were from India, and nearly 90% of its total exports reached Indian markets.
?The work of laying the network will start soon and we would be able to complete it within six-eight months. For RailTel also, which till date has laid thousands kilometers of Optical fiber cable (OFC) network in India, it is the first international project,? the railway official added.
RailTel is one of the largest Telecom infrastructure players in the country.
It has created a high-speed OFC Backbone Network along railway routes across the country, totalling to a length of over 42,000 km and connecting over 4,000 stations on the network, including several rural areas. The telecom arm of the railways is also implementing the mission mode projecting of connecting 2,50,000 gram panchayats of the country.