PRETORIA (Metro Rail News): RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. (RailTel), a renowned Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with South African companies InoviTel (PTY) LTD and Tsiko Africa Energy & Infrastructure. This strategic alliance, signed on April 24, 2024, aims to deploy Indian technology and innovations across various sectors in South Africa, including telecom and railways.
The MOU was formalised in Pretoria in the presence of Sh. Prabhat Kumar, High Commissioner of India to South Africa, and Sh. Mahesh Kumar, Consul General of India in Johannesburg. Representing RailTel, Sh. Parag Kumar Goyal, Principal Executive Director /Enterprise Business, exchanged the MOU documents with Mr. Lavine Singh, CEO of InoviTel, and Mr. Pragasen Naidoo, CEO of Tsiko Africa Energy & Infrastructure.
Scope of the MOU
The scope of the MOU is extensive and includes the activation and commercialisation of dark fibre along railway and high-voltage transmission lines in South Africa. It also encompasses advanced solutions such as railway signal and telecommunication systems, digital twin modelling of railway assets for predictive maintenance, and traffic simulation. Additionally, the partnership will provide Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) based Distributed Acoustic System (DAS) for public and private rail operators, connectivity solutions for SA connect/Railway, and private business fibre network operators.
What is dark fibre?
Dark fibre refers to installed but unused optical fibre cables that aren’t currently transmitting data. It offers businesses and organizations the opportunity to lease and manage their private fibre optic network rather than relying on a service provider. Benefits include scalability, low latency, increased security, and reliability compared to leased services. To utilize dark fibre, a business needs to purchase and install its own transmission equipment to activate the fibre, giving them full control over the network. This solution is favoured by large enterprises, data centres, telecom providers, and organizations requiring high-speed, high-capacity, and dedicated network connectivity. In essence, dark fibre provides the infrastructure for businesses to construct their private, high-performance network.
Expanding RailTel’s International Footprint
This collaboration not only enhances RailTel’s international footprint but also supports the digital transformation of South Africa through IT/ICT solutions. RailTel, leveraging its vast experience and infrastructure, including a 61,000+ RKM (Route kilometre) optic fibre network across India, aims to bring state-of-the-art digital solutions to South Africa.
InoviTel and Tsiko Africa Energy & Infrastructure, South African entities, are integral to the South African Indo-Afro Business Association (SAIBA) NPC (Non-Profit Company).
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