Bengaluru, Apr 9 (Reporter) ITI Limited, the country's first public sector undertaking established post-independence and a premier telecom manufacturing company, has commenced work on the State Network Operations Center (S-NOC) for the BharatNet Phase-III Project at Solan in Himachal Pradesh, in coordination with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). BharatNet Phase-III Project aims to connect all gram panchayats across the country. The S-NOC, a centralised hub for monitoring and managing the performance, security, and availability of the network infrastructure under the BharatNet project, marks a significant step towards the efficient delivery of broadband services in rural India, the company said in a statement here. In November 2024, ITI Limited had emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) for the BharatNet Phase-III Project in two major packages — Package 8 in Himachal Pradesh and Package 9 covering West Bengal and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands — with a total order value of Rs. 5,050 crore. The project, envisaged for the development of the middle mile network on a Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM) model, is funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Union Government. The S-NOC inauguration took place at the BSNL office in Solan, where Rajesh Rai, Chairman and Managing Director of ITI Limited, and Anil Kumar Gupta, Chief General Manager of BSNL, formally initiated the centre and kick-started the implementation of BharatNet Phase-III in the state. The event was attended by senior officials including Rajeev Srivastava, Director (Finance), ITI Limited; Namita, General Manager, ITI Limited; Jaspal Singh, Senior GM, BSNL; and other dignitaries from both organisations. The Government of India’s BharatNet Phase-III Project aims to connect all gram panchayats across the country to the IP-MPLS ring network. The newly launched S-NOC will oversee connectivity for all gram panchayats in Himachal Pradesh and play a crucial role in ensuring last-mile service delivery. As part of the project, ITI Limited will connect 3,615 gram panchayats to 91 block headquarters using 10 Gbps bandwidth, which will be integrated with BSNL’s IP-MPLS backbone. The extended network will cover over 15,500 villages across Himachal Pradesh, with approximately 20,000 km of optical fibre cable (OFC) being laid across the state. Speaking on the occasion, Rai said, "We are very glad to initiate this S-NOC in partnership with BSNL. This project is a significant step towards digital connectivity and rural empowerment in Himachal Pradesh, which will assist in providing high-speed broadband services in rural areas." "Himachal Pradesh is a geographically challenging terrain, but we are confident of implementing this project within the scheduled timeline. Once completed, it will transform the digital landscape of the state by enabling access to high-speed internet in every village, thereby promoting education, healthcare, business, and e-governance," he added...////...