The Telecom Commission has reportedly approved Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited?s (BSNL) request for additional capital of Rs 55.03 billion for the alternative network it is building for the armed forces.
This amount will be over and above the Rs 80.98 billion that has already been given to the operator for this project. This undertaking is aimed at providing the armed forces with an alternative communications network, thus freeing airwaves for commercial telephony.
The defence services had vacated 3G frequencies in August 2010 after the centre had told them that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) would launch this alternative network within two years. The project costs had increased by about Rs 55 billion, after the armed forces had requested for several modifications in the alternative network.
