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After facing the tough and tricky problem of providing high bandwidth access to government offices across large and rough terrains where wired network is not an option, and after successful implementation of WiMax in the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura, Nortel has partnered the Chhattisgarh state government to modernize its communications infrastructure through a new, high-bandwidth State Wide Area Network (SWAN). This will connect all the departments of the state. The Chhattisgarh SWAN (CG SWAN) is a hybrid network with a mix of wireless and wire line access supporting voice, data and video traffic. This huge deployment of WiMax will provide access to 3,000 locations in the state.

The SWAN will provide intra-department as well as inter-department connectivity and access to all departments under the state government. With this network connectivity, the government will be able to connect its offices not just at the headquarter levels, but right down to the local administrations level, even in remote and inaccessible areas.

Various citizen-facing services under all the departments of the state are made available under one roof in these centers, providing easy access to services such as applying for birth certificates, land use records or business certification while also allowing people to track the status of their applications online.

The CG SWAN will also serve as the backbone for various state departments to deploy IT related applications for the public. The new network will deliver high-speed access to remote locations, which currently lack any Internet connectivity. Improved data sharing among different departments of the government enabled by SWAN will lead to better monitoring and evaluation of government programs as well as more effective and transparent administration.

WiMax is a proven technology for providing reliable communications and access across rough terrains and remote areas that are difficult to serve with conventional wireless and wire line technologies. WiMax is also based on open standards, which is key to the government's e-governance vision to implement platforms that offer interoperability. “With SWAN, we will be able to connect our offices not just at the headquarters level, but right down to the local administration levels even in remote, inaccessible areas,” says Aman Singh, chief executive officer, Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society (ChiPS).

ChiPS, a divison of the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology, Government of Chhattisgarh has selected Nortel's WiMax based last mile connectivity over competing WLAN solutions. The network will cover all the locations in the state for the last mile through fewer cell sites which means the roll-out will be faster with WiMax with low total cost of ownership.

This network implementation will transform the process of government communications for the roughly 20 mn citizens of the state and redefine the concept of e-governance for citizens through real time access to information reducing the need for multiple visits and time consuming, pare based approvals. Nortel's wireless network will ensure faster roll out of WiMax in the state, which has thick forest cover and other inaccessible locations.

Arpita Prem
arpitap@cybermedia.co.in