Latest news with #OpticalFibreCable
Express Tribune
29-06-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
USF approves Rs7.49b for high-speed internet, 4G expansion
98th Board meeting of the Universal Service Fund - Pakistan (USF Co) was convened on June 19, 2025. Photo: Listen to article The Universal Service Fund (USF) Board of Directors has approved seven major telecommunications projects worth Rs7.49 billion to improve high-speed internet and mobile connectivity for nearly 960,000 people across 347 locations in 10 districts of Pakistan. The announcement was made during the USF Board's 98th meeting, chaired by Zarar Hasham Khan, Secretary of the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, held at USF headquarters on Sunday, Radio Pakistan reported. Among the approved initiatives are two large-scale Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) projects aimed at providing high-speed fixed broadband to approximately 2.8 million people in the Sanghar and Jhang districts. These projects will involve the deployment of 940 kilometres of fibre optic infrastructure, linking 113 towns and union councils. 'The Fund is not only launching new projects but also closely monitoring the timely completion of existing initiatives,' said Zarar Hasham Khan. 'Under the guidance of Federal IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, the USF is reshaping Pakistan's digital ecosystem.' The 98th Board meeting of the Universal Service Fund - Pakistan (USF Co) was convened on June 19, 2025, under the chairmanship of Mr. Zarrar Hasham Khan, Secretary IT & Telecommunication, with CEO Universal Service Fund Chaudhry Mudassar Naveed, Member Telecom Mr. Muhammad… — Universal Service Fund- Pakistan (@USF_Pak) June 29, 2025 Khan noted that the USF's ongoing efforts have already connected more than 37 million people across the country. 'These efforts are helping young entrepreneurs and women in remote areas become freelancers and start businesses, thereby boosting Pakistan's IT exports,' he added. The Board awarded all seven contracts to the lowest bidders following a completed procurement process. The two OFC projects alone are valued at over Rs5.65 billion. The Sanghar segment will require 415 kilometres of fibre, while the Jhang component will cover 525 kilometres. Five other projects, with a combined value exceeding Rs1.83 billion, will bring 4G mobile broadband services to nearly 1,000 villages and settlements in Attock, Khushab, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Hafizabad, Sheikhupura, Chiniot, Badin, and Abbottabad. The projects are part of a wider effort to accelerate digital inclusion and stimulate economic activity through improved internet connectivity across Pakistan.
NDTV
03-06-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Musk's Starlink To Get Licence Soon? What Jyotiraditya Scindia Told NDTV
New Delhi: Emphasising that satellite communications is of immense importance in India, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has indicated that the country is eager to welcome players like Elon Musk's Starlink. Speaking exclusively to NDTV Profit on Tuesday, Mr Scindia was asked about the possibility of Starlink getting a licence and what it brings to the table from an Indian telecommunications sector perspective. The minister said he is "company agnostic and customer centric". "Just like in civil aviation, or in the telecom service provider space, or in the ISP space or the fixed wireless access space, my job is to ensure that I provide choice to the consumer. And India is ready for SATCOM service delivery. All players across the world are welcome. As long as they comply with our regulations, they check the boxes and are ready to perform business in India, all are welcome in India," he said. Pointing out that satellite connectivity as a service has immense potential and immense need in any country, including India, he said there are two key reasons for this: providing connectivity in areas that wouldn't get it otherwise, and because of how useful they are in times of calamities. "There are certain areas across the globe which cannot be provided telephony through either RAN (Radio Access Network) towers, or through OFC (Optical Fibre Cable) being laid or through broadband. In those hostile terrains, the only option is to give connectivity through satellite. And, today, telephony and connectivity is not only a means of empowerment of communication, it's a means of empowerment of livelihood. And, therefore, it is our fiduciary responsibility to be able to provide that," he said. "Second, in the times of natural calamity, and this has been proven again and again and again, satellite is the only recourse that humans have to be able to provide connectivity on a temporary basis. And therefore, in both those areas, satellite communications is extremely important. And we are eager to have that option in India for our customers as soon as possible," the telecom minister stressed. Mobile Duopoly? To a question on whether India is going to see a duopoly in terms of mobile operators, Mr Scindia said India is one of the few countries in the world that has four players. "There are very few countries that can boast of four players that have a national network. And India stands out as a country that has four players. That is the status today, and I believe that should be the status going forward as well. Because my job is to make sure that the customers have choice," he said.
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
TG team led by Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka studies UG cabling project in Bengaluru
HYDERABAD A team of energy department authorities led by Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka, who holds the portfolios of Energy and Finance, visited Bengaluru on Tuesday to study the underground cabling taken up by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd (Bescom) as the Telangana government too is planning to go for UG cabling in Hyderabad beginning with some key areas. Chairman and Managing Director of the TG-Transco D. Krishna Bhaskar, CMD of Telangana Southern Discom Md. Musharraf Faruqui and a few senior engineers of the two power utilities were part of the team led by Mr. Vikramarka. They were taken around the UG cabling works by MD of Karnataka Transco and Bescom Pankaj Pandey. According to the Deputy Chief Minister, the visit was undertaken as part of the State government's plans to modernise the urban infrastructure and improve power supply systems' reliability, safety and aesthetics in rapidly growing metropolitan areas (Hyderabad). The visit commenced with a high-level review meeting hosted by the Bescom officials. Through a power point presentation, Mr. Pandey explained to the visiting team on the Bengaluru Overhead (OH) to Underground (UG) Power Conversion Project, which he claimed had emerged as one of the country's most comprehensive urban power infrastructure transformations. He stated that the project launched in 2018–19 had already converted over 7,400 km of 11 kV OH lines and thousands of km of low-tension lines into UG or aerial bunched (AB) cables. Innovation in UG cabling A key innovation of the project was laying of the Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) ducts along the UG cable routes to enable future telecom leasing as a revenue stream. The Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana enquired about the design and implementation challenges. The Bescom officials explained to Mr. Vikramarka and his team that the financial structuring of the project and it includes loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and other public sector banks and that technical losses and electrical accidents had come down by 2% since the UG implementation. On the readiness of OFC infrastructure for commercial use, the Bescom officials stated that while ducts were in place, the last-mile coordination with telecom operators and BBMP was in progress and that the role of Ring Main Units (RMUs) had ensured system reliability and had reduced downtime during faults. Mr. Vikramarka appreciated the scale and execution discipline of the project and hoped that the study would benefit the urban grid modernisation to be taken up in Telangana, particularly in Future City. Later, the team visited a pilot site in Malleshwaram (15th Cross) where an Underground Distribution network, including an underground Distribution Transformer (DTR) system, was being implemented. The site showcased how DTRs could be housed in fully buried chambers with accessible maintenance panels at the street level, freeing up urban space and improving safety, according to the officials accompanying the Deputy CM.
