By IANS,
New Delhi : A proposal is being processed for a Rs.5,236 crore ($1.3 billion) exclusive pan-India optical fibre cable (OFC) for the defence forces to enable them to vacate the radio waves they currently occupy, parliament was informed Wednesday.
The allocation is in addition to the Rs.8,098 crore ($1.8 billion) that was approved for the defence forces’ communication netwok in 2009, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
The communications and information technology is processing the proposal for the OFC network to be laid over 60,000 km to provide connectivity for 129 army, 162 air force and 33 navy stations.
“The alternative network will be implemented to facilitate vacation of spectrum by the defence services,” Antony added.