MUMBAI, July 18: The department of telecommunications (DoT) has decided to set up a `high speed telecom backbone' across the country at an estimated cost of Rs 700 crore. The department hopes to put in place this optic fibre-based backbone by the year 2000.

The high speed backbone, when fully operational, is expected to enhance the department's capacity to carry both voice and data over its lines. Besides the increase in its bandwidth, it is also expected to be more reliable as the technology used in it would be one of the latest. Sources say that the backbone would be optic fibre-based.

Though work on the project has not started yet, telecom industry sources say that the department has targeted completion of the project by the year 2000. In fact, there are already some clusters of networks based on optic fibre available in the country.

What the department plans to do, point out the sources, is add more optic fibre cables in different clusters and finally integrate all the clusters to set up the high speed backbone.

While no details on the funding of the project is available, sources indicated that the department would be able to come up with the money without much difficulty as it has been collecting large sums in the form of licence fees.

The need for such a backbone had been a long standing demand of the Indian industry as well as foreign investors. In fact, the need to set up a high speed telecom backbone has been stressed at different forums time and again.According to the sources, the visit of Bill Gates early this year gave the much needed impeteus to the project.

Gates, on his various meetings with top political leaders including the prime minister and the finance minister, had stressed the need for the setting up of a high speed telecom backbone in the country. He had also said that without such a backbone India would not be able to become a major player in the global software market.

While industry in general would benefit from such a move, the software industry in particular will be the single largest beneficiary of the high speed backbone.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.