Background

Indian armed forces needed to develop an independent communication network in addition to its Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) Network. Being executed under the flagship defence telecom project NFS (Network For Spectrum) to enhance the network availability and capabilities of the Indian Defence Forces.

HFCL was entrusted to develop a Microwave network for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. Once operational, the microwave network will add redundancy to OFC Network.

Deployment of the network involved the installation of multiple microwave towers and support infrastructure in remote locations along the borders of the Country. The project was also designed to cover areas where the OFC network’s reach is unavailable.

HFCL Solution

• To achieve communication between sites of Microwave links, installed towers of height up to 120 meters. As Wind speed in hilly border areas is very high, towers were designed to withstand wind speeds of 200 kmph.
• As some of these towers were installed on hills or at places without roads, the last leg of material transportation to the site was accomplished through manual labour.
• Border areas in defence premises like Leh-Ladakh, and Arunachal Pradesh were under challenging conditions with limited accessibility and food supplies.
• To expedite project works for remote border locations, where climatic conditions were severe, local service partners who are used to local conditions were hired and trained by the HFCL team.
• To counter the lower availability of oxygen and extremely cold climate, the team size was doubled to achieve targets, and handy oxygen cylinders were provided to the team.
• To reduce traveling time, team accommodation was arranged at nearby camps.
• For hilltop sites where access roads were not available for resource mobilization, roads were constructed for the safe movement of resources.

The Outcome

Successful development and deployment of the Microwave network added latency to OFC Network, enhancing network-centric warfare capabilities.