RailTel, a government-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, has secured a significant contract from Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd. (KSITIL) to provide hardware, software, licensing, installation, testing, commissioning, and maintenance services for the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON). The total value of this contract is Rs 27.91 crore, excluding GST. KFON is an initiative driven by the Government of Kerala, managed by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Kerala State IT Infrastructure Ltd.
In a previous phase, RailTel, in collaboration with M/s Bharat Electronics Limited, played a key role in implementing the IT infrastructure of the initial stage of KFON. This included executing the entire IT component of the project.
The primary objective of KFON is to provide intranet and internet connectivity to around 30,000 government offices and offer free internet access to approximately 20 lakh Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.
A RailTel representative highlighted the company’s expertise and experience in the field, underscoring their readiness to undertake the current project. This endeavor will aid the Government of Kerala in realising their ambitious goal of expanding broadband access extensively. The new project will enable the government to deploy 2.5 lakh internet connections, including 14,000 free connections across 140 constituencies initially, along with commercial connectivity throughout Kerala.
RailTel other projects
Additionally, RailTel is actively involved in various other Information Technology and Information and Communication Technology (IT & ICT) projects for different departments and institutions within the Kerala government. These projects encompass diverse solutions such as networking, telecom, and data services, benefiting initiatives like Kerala State Wide Area Network, e-Health, and the Government Secretariat.
It’s important to note that RailTel, as a Central Public Sector Enterprise, possesses an expansive nationwide optical fiber network covering urban and rural areas. With over 61,000 kilometers of optic fiber infrastructure and two tier III data centers approved by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), RailTel is a major player in the telecom infrastructure and ICT solutions sector.
Leveraging its extensive network, RailTel is contributing to the creation of a knowledge-based society across multiple domains. The company has been selected to execute several critical projects for the Government of India in the telecommunications domain. RailTel’s service offerings include MPLS VPN, telepresence, leased lines, tower co-location, data center services, and more.