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RailTel has shown a quantum rise since its establishment on September 26,
2000. It was set up with an objective to optimally utilize Railways'
communication assets commercially. RailTel is working towards augmenting and
modernizing the existing infrastructure of railways to provide communication
services to railways and earn profit commercially. It has laid 29,000 Rkm of
optical fiber. Out of this around 25,000 Rkm is lit. And the company has
sanction for another about 6,000 Rkm. It aims to reach 35,000 Rkm in a year and
a half. The target for 2008 is 42,000 Rkm. The company invested around Rs 800
crore including Indian Railways investment, in its network in FY 2005-06.
In FY 2005-06, RailTel netted a total revenue of Rs 88 crore, a 35% growth
from FY 2004-05. The company has sold 2,464 E1s in FY 2005-06, a 100% growth
excluding the usage by Indian Railways, which is another 20%.
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RailTel provides bandwidth services at various levels and over secure OFC
path, which it is deploying all over the country. Along with selling pure
bandwidth, RailTel is also providing Internet services as an ISP and has an ISP
category-A license. The company aims to provide Internet services along its
network to corporates and individuals. The network supports VoIP as well as
video chat and the organization expects to launch feature-packed cyber cafes at
82 railway stations under the name of 'Cyber Express' in 2006-07.
The company is also a great
proponent of infrastructure sharing and provides co-location services.
RailTel is capable of providing MPLS based virtual private networks for
corporates. It is also a few steps away from entering the NLD business as a
carrier of carriers. It has already got a letter of intent from DoT and its
IP-II license is being converted to NLD.
In 2005, the company established a 2.5 GbPS STM 16 link between New Delhi and
Itarasi using next generation SDH systems. This will give RailTel an edge over
its competitors in offering leased lines and IP services.
The company is also deploying wireless broadband solutions to provide
broadband voice and data services to towns and cities along its railway routes
in India. It carried out its infrastructure projects with companies such as
Alcatel, Puncom, and Juniper.
It has also tied up with Motorola for distributing radio equipment in the
northern and eastern parts of India. UTStarcom is supplying its optical
transport solutions to RailTel.
In 2005, RailTel also signed a MoU with two other PSUs, GAIL and Power Grid
to enhance their telecom operations by forming a consortium to jointly offer
bandwidth. With this they will become the second largest broadband service
provider in the country.
The consortium is expected to be responsible for coordinating marketing and
future OFC development plans to establish a pan-India presence. It plans to
focus on entertainment sector and is targeting Rs 10 bn revenues from the
business by 2008.
Besides this, consortium also plans to have an extensive intra-city OFC
network in more than 60 important cities to provide end-to-end services.
Despite all the enthusiasm, its still a long way for the consortium to
materialize as many aspects of the deal are still being worked upon. The
partnership is developing, but the companies are not yet in the consortium
stage.
In 2006-07 the company is sure to make profits. It also plans to provide DWDN
on some of the busy areas and to invest around Rs 120 crore to make the networks
efficient in certain areas. It plans to expand in a big way as an ISP.
RailTel's strength is the Railway's network and has 2,500 Points of Presence
(P-O-P's) and it has immense potential, as the rural communications will
expand.
The groundwork has been done and RailTel is ready to make its mark in the
telecom industry. With the mammoth strength of Railways under its belt it is
bound to emerge as a winner.
Sonia Sharma
sonias@cybermedia.co.in