L&T Wins Large Network Management Order from the Indian Army

The construction arm of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bagged a Large* order pertaining to its Smart World & Communication Business segment. The order has been bagged from the Indian Army to establish a Unified Network Management System to Manage, Support and Operate the countrywide Armed Forces Network under the Network for Spectrum (NFS).

Time-line for the project is one and a half year along with three years of warranty. The order also includes AMC of seven years, during which L&T will also provide managed maintenance services.

L&T’s Scope of Work

The project involves creation of a resilient cloud-based IT infrastructure on Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) model. As mentioned in L&T’s press release dtd 07^th April 2020, project includes “Next Generation Operations System and Software (NGOSS) based Unified Network Management System, Eight Network Operations Centers (NOCs) consisting of National NOCs, Disaster Recovery NOCs, Regional NOCs, Security Operation Centers, Tier III Data Centres and Training Infrastructure”.

The centralized network monitoring, management and control system for all the seven layers (network layers) under Network for Spectrum shall interconnect 414 Defence stations. It will allow real time monitoring of complete IT network of Indian Army.

As mentioned in company’s press release Mr. S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO & Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro said “This is an extremely crucial and sensitive project for the Ministry of Defence and we are proud that the Ministry has reposed their faith in our technical, engineering and capabilities to execute this project”.

Background of India’s Network for Spectrum (NFS) and Projects

To boost operational communication of Indian Army, in 2009-10 Union Defence Ministry and Department of Telecommunication (DoT) had signed an agreement to set up exclusive defence network for its communication services with 5 MHz of 3G spectrum and 20 MHz of 2G spectrum in phases in lieu of spectrum for civilian use.

The project is being implemented by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). As mentioned in Hindu dated 1^st June 2018, the total budget of the project had touched Rs. 24,664 crore after the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure had approved increased budget for laying of alternative communication network.

*L&T’s Order Classification: As per L&T’s classification this order is in the range of ₹ 2,500 Cr. to ₹ 5,000 Cr.