Mission Cable-Able: Bengaluru To Become First City To Get Its Own State-Run Optical Fibre Network

Bengaluru’s electric utility, BESCOM, will lay an optical fibre communication (OFC) cable network running for over 3,500 km in the city and also simultaneously replace around 6,900 km of overhead lines with underground cables, reports Times Of India (TOI).

Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) will execute the project in a phased manner over the next three years and the network is expected to cost the government Rs 4,500 crore. However, the detailed project report (DPR) for the same is still in the ‘approval’ stage.

“With this, Bescom will become the first government-owned electricity distribution company to have a self-owned, in-house communication system. We can get meter data through Radio Frequency (RF) technology or remotely through smart meters. The remaining strands of optical fibres can be leased out to other departments like traffic police, BWSSB or private players, generating extra revenue for Bescom,” said Bescom managing director C Shikha.

The cost incurred will be minimal but the benefits aplenty. The cost will only be 5 per cent in addition to the cost of UG-cabling project. A trenchless horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method will be followed in the optical fibre project, ensuring minimum inconvenience to the public, the director added.

Push For E-Vehicles In Bengaluru

To future-proof itself, BESCOM is also pushing to mainstream electric vehicles (E-Vehicles) in the city. In January 2019, it invited tenders to set up 100 charging stations with a capacity to charge three vehicles at once. These stations will be set up on campuses of government offices initially.

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