ITI Limited has commenced the work for State Network Operations Center (S-NOC) of the monumental BharatNet Phase-III Project at Solan in Himachal Pradesh in coordination with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).  S-NOC is a centralised location where ITI Limited will monitor and manage the performance, security, and availability of project’s network infrastructure, ensuring efficient delivery of services.

In November 2024, ITI Limited had emerged as L1 for BharatNet Phase-III Project in the states of Himachal Pradesh for Package No. 8, and in West Bengal, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands for Package No. 9 with total order value of Rs 50.5 billion. This Project is envisaged for the Development of Middle Mile Network of BharatNet Project on a Design Build Operate and Maintain (DBOM) Model and is funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), government of India.

The government launched BharatNet Phase-III Project to connect all gram panchayats across the country to the internet protocol multi-protocol label switching (IP-MPLS) Ring Network. This modern S-NOC will monitor the connectivity of all gram panchayats (GPs) in Himachal Pradesh and will assist in providing connectivity to consumers at the last mile.

The project will be implemented by ITI Limited in Himachal Pradesh and under this scheme, 3,615-gram panchayats will be connected to 91 block headquarters via 10 Gbps bandwidth, which will be connected to the BSNL IP-MPLS Ring Network. This connectivity will be extended to 15,538 villages across the state. Approximately 20,000 kilometres of optical fibre cable (OFC) will be laid in across Himachal Pradesh for this project.

Commenting on the announcement, Rajesh Rai, chairman and managing director, ITI Limited, 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 that we will successfully implement this project well within scheduled completion period. Once this project is completed, it will give a new dimension to the digital revolution in Himachal Pradesh and make high-speed internet service available easily in every village, promoting education, health, business, and e-governance.”