Railtel Corporation of India
Encyclopedia
Railtel Corporation of India is a Government of India enterprise focusing on providing broadband and VPN services. RailTel was formed in Sept 2000 with the objective of creating nation-wide broadband, telecom and multimedia network, to modernize Train Control Operation and Safety System of Indian Railways. RailTel's network passes through around 5,000 stations across the country, covering all central business districts, towns, cities, mini/major-metros.
RailTel has created state of the art
multimedia telecom network using SDH/DWDM based transmission systems and high end routers for MPLS-IP network. Indian Railways have seamless Right of Way along 63,000 KM of Railway Track
passing through 7000 stations across the country. The stations in major cities are located in central business districts. Indian Railways already had established a strong Telecom Network to meet its communication requirements. With the formation of Corporation, Indian Railways' Right of Way and OFC assets have been transferred to RailTel. Presently, about 32500 KM of OFC has already been laid and over 29500 KM has been commissioned. Works on another 10620 KM are in various stage of completion.
Presently RailTel holds the following licenses using which it is offering various services across India:
National Long Distance
Class "A" ISP (with Internet Telephony
)
IP-II
IP-I
Backbone
RailTel has rolled out a transparent, robust, reliable, high speed OFC Backbone Network
covering about 32000 km presently and ultimately covering 45,000 km across the country by 2010. Currently over 3200 cities/ towns have been connected on the network.
The backbone networks have been configured in multiple 'self healing' rings consisting of more than large no. of rings and linear sections, which provide for redundancy by automatically redirecting traffic away from failed/ de-graded route for fault-free service.
The long haul network of RailTel is presently on STM-16 which has already been upgraded to 100 G DWDM which can be further augmented up to 400 Gpbs.
MPLS-IP Network
The MPLS network has been built using Junos M-20 and M-10 high end routers of Juniper. The network supports services like layer 3
and layer 2
VPN services, broadband internet access
, multicast services etc. The MPLS network has POPs at 40 cities across the country and is in the process of being extended to other important cities/towns also. The IP services at more than 3000 POPs in the country will be extended through Ethernet interface available in the SDH networks at these locations which will intern be connected to MPLS-IP backbone network at the 40 cities. Currently the MPLS backbone supports multiple STM-1
capacity. The network is also being upgraded to Giga capacity overlayed on new DWDM network, so as to provide gigabit VPN ports for IP based voice, video and data applications.
NGN Network
RailTel has also built a NGN network which is being used to transit Inter circle Voice call of various mobile and basic operators. Initially the network has been rolled out in 18 cities and will be increased to more cities in the future. These cities are Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore, Coimbatore, Secunderabad, Madurai, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Jallandhar, Lucknow, New Delhi
, Bhubneshwar, Kolkata and Patna On the strength of this network RailTel is offering not only Class 4 services but can further enhance its service portfolio by offering various value added
services (VAS) like enterprise VoIP, etc.
Internet Backbone
RailTel is providing nationwide Internet services on its state of the art MPLS backbone. Currently RailTel sources STM-1 level Internet bandwidth at three different locations i.e. New Delhi, Mumbai & Chennai using three different service provider
s. In future the capacity will be augmented to multiple STM-1s/ STM4s at each location.
Wi-Fi & WiMax
RailTel is all set to Unwire rural areas with High Speed Broadband connectivity using the future proof WiMax
technology. On the strength of this network, RailTel plans to offer Broadband Internet, VoIP and other Value Added Services including E-Governance
applications at your finger tip instantly. RailTel has already been allotted spectrum in 2.7 GHz band by DoT in this regard. For this project RailTel has entered into an MoU with private organizations under PPP (Public Private Partnership
) initiative. In addition RailTel has already started making various Railway stations
Wi-Fi/ WiMAX enabled thereby enabling passengers to connect to Internet using their Laptops, Handhelds and other Wi-Fi
devices in Railway stations.
Railwire
With the formation of extensive and robust Pan India Fiber network RailTel is in a position to offer various bandwidth intensive application to its customers. One such initiative is RailWIRE, a joint venture with MSOs to provide Voice, Video and Multimedia access on a single wire at home/office. Customers in urban and even rural areas can now experience the power of Triple play services. Digital cable
channels can be broadcast to the end users on the strength of this network along with broadband Internet, VoIP and other services simultaneously. For more details please log on to www.railwire.in.
Cyber Cafes
RailTel plans to open Cyber Cafes on various Railway Stations across the country. In First phase 83 cities have been identified for cafes. Out of which 24 cafes is already operational.The remaining cafes are already under implementation and are expected to be operational in a year time. The Cyber Cafes are fully Air-conditioned
. The services offered at Cafes:- Internet browsing, Internet telephony, Scanning of documents, Video conferencing
, Audio video chatting, printing of documents and CD writing etc.
BANDWIDTH SERVICES (From 64 Kbps to 10Gbps)
RailTel has a vast OFC network capable of providing bandwidth services at a large number of towns and cities across the country. RailTel is uniquely positioned to provide these services with following features.
Bandwidth at various granularities
Secure and protected OFC path
24 Strand single mode fibre armoured OFC
Network engineered for SDH, and DWDM
Edge & access layer by STM1/4 /16
Network enabled for IP, ATM, frame relay
, Gigabit Ethernet
and seamless connectivity
Extensive reach although STM-1/ 16 dropping at every small/ remote location
Centralized and regional NMSs.
INTERNET SERVICES
RailTel is also offering internet services as an ISP (Internet Service Provider
). It has an ISP category-A license to provide these services. This service is available all along the OFC network of Railtel.
Features
RailTel is offering Internet Services all along its network. Corporates as well as individual or groups can avail of it.
The network supports voice over internet protocol (VOIP) or internet telephony.
An unrivaled network infrastructure with multiple Internet backbone
providers to keep your data flowing and your access to the Internet protected, 24/7.
Rock-solid, always reliable based on state-of-the-art systems.
The Internet connectivity and speed provided by RailTel supports all kinds of usage including VOIP and Video Chat
The Internet connectivity and speed provided by RailTel supports all kinds of usage including VOIP and Video Chat
RailTel plans to open about 250 Cyber Cafes on Railway Stations across the country . In First phase 83 cities have been identified for cafes. Out of which 7 cafes is already operational ( New Delhi , Hyedrabad, Banglore, Gorakhpur, Asansol, Jhansi and Pune ) .The remaining cafes are already under implementation and are expected to be operational in a year time. The Cyber Cafes are fully Air-conditioned . The services offered at Cafes :- Internet browsing , Internet telephony , Scanning of documents , Video conferencing , Audio video chatting, printing of documents and CD writing etc.
CO-LOCATION FACILITIES
Towers space is available for installing antennae at more than 1000 locations.
There are various such locations which are being used by over a dozen satisfied customers including basic service operators, cell operators, Entertainment and Media organizations
Towers locations are spread throughout the country. Space available for installing electronic equipment. Electricity and Co-Location
facilities available in secure railway premises in nationwide Railway infrastructure. RailTel is also tying up with tower Infrastructure companies to provide managed services
and establishing new Towers. List of Existing Towers
Northern Region 257
Eastern Region 434
Western Region 162
Southern Region 156
Total Towers 1009
VPN Services
RailTel is capable of providing virtual private network
s for corporates. The RailTel infrastructure for VPN is based on MPLS (Multi protocol Label Switching
) technology ensuring top class IP VPN services. MPLS system allows full control over parameters that are critical to offering secure and efficient VPN service. Thus the industrial houses can have a very secure fiber connectivity and RailTel can meet all their voice and data VPN requirements.
NLD
RailTel has launched NLD business by signing IUC (Interconnect) Agreement with major operators across India. The NLD infrastructure has been built, is based on Next Generation Network (NGN) Technology. This will enable operators to offer cheaper STD (National Long Distance) services to subscribers using RailTel's NLD Network.
Network has been rolled out in 18 cities and will be increased to more cities in the future. The proposed cities are Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore, Coimbatore, Secunderabad, Madurai, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Jallandhar, Lucknow, New Delhi, Bhubneshwar, Kolkata and Patna On the strength of this network RailTel will be able to offer not only Class 4 services but can further enhance its service portfolio by offering various value added services (VAS) like enterprise VoIP, etc.
External Links
RailTel has created state of the art
State of the art
The state of the art is the highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time. It also refers to the level of development reached at any particular time as a result of the latest methodologies employed.- Origin :The earliest use of the term...
multimedia telecom network using SDH/DWDM based transmission systems and high end routers for MPLS-IP network. Indian Railways have seamless Right of Way along 63,000 KM of Railway Track
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
passing through 7000 stations across the country. The stations in major cities are located in central business districts. Indian Railways already had established a strong Telecom Network to meet its communication requirements. With the formation of Corporation, Indian Railways' Right of Way and OFC assets have been transferred to RailTel. Presently, about 32500 KM of OFC has already been laid and over 29500 KM has been commissioned. Works on another 10620 KM are in various stage of completion.
Presently RailTel holds the following licenses using which it is offering various services across India:
National Long Distance
Class "A" ISP (with Internet Telephony
Voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol is a family of technologies, methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission techniques for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet...
)
IP-II
IP-I
Backbone
RailTel has rolled out a transparent, robust, reliable, high speed OFC Backbone Network
Backbone network
A backbone network or network backbone is a part of computer network infrastructure that interconnects various pieces of network, providing a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or subnetworks. A backbone can tie together diverse networks in the same building, in different...
covering about 32000 km presently and ultimately covering 45,000 km across the country by 2010. Currently over 3200 cities/ towns have been connected on the network.
The backbone networks have been configured in multiple 'self healing' rings consisting of more than large no. of rings and linear sections, which provide for redundancy by automatically redirecting traffic away from failed/ de-graded route for fault-free service.
The long haul network of RailTel is presently on STM-16 which has already been upgraded to 100 G DWDM which can be further augmented up to 400 Gpbs.
MPLS-IP Network
The MPLS network has been built using Junos M-20 and M-10 high end routers of Juniper. The network supports services like layer 3
Network layer
The network layer is layer 3 of the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking.The network layer is responsible for packet forwarding including routing through intermediate routers, whereas the data link layer is responsible for media access control, flow control and error checking.The network...
and layer 2
Data link layer
The data link layer is layer 2 of the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking. It corresponds to, or is part of the link layer of the TCP/IP reference model....
VPN services, broadband internet access
Broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
, multicast services etc. The MPLS network has POPs at 40 cities across the country and is in the process of being extended to other important cities/towns also. The IP services at more than 3000 POPs in the country will be extended through Ethernet interface available in the SDH networks at these locations which will intern be connected to MPLS-IP backbone network at the 40 cities. Currently the MPLS backbone supports multiple STM-1
STM-1
The STM-1 is the SDH ITU-T fiber optic network transmission standard. It has a bit rate of 155.52 Mbit/s. Higher levels go up by a factor of 4 at a time: the other currently supported levels are STM-4, STM-16, STM-64 and STM-256...
capacity. The network is also being upgraded to Giga capacity overlayed on new DWDM network, so as to provide gigabit VPN ports for IP based voice, video and data applications.
NGN Network
RailTel has also built a NGN network which is being used to transit Inter circle Voice call of various mobile and basic operators. Initially the network has been rolled out in 18 cities and will be increased to more cities in the future. These cities are Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore, Coimbatore, Secunderabad, Madurai, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Jallandhar, Lucknow, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, Bhubneshwar, Kolkata and Patna On the strength of this network RailTel is offering not only Class 4 services but can further enhance its service portfolio by offering various value added
Value added
In economics, the difference between the sale price and the production cost of a product is the value added per unit. Summing value added per unit over all units sold is total value added. Total value added is equivalent to Revenue less Outside Purchases...
services (VAS) like enterprise VoIP, etc.
Internet Backbone
RailTel is providing nationwide Internet services on its state of the art MPLS backbone. Currently RailTel sources STM-1 level Internet bandwidth at three different locations i.e. New Delhi, Mumbai & Chennai using three different service provider
Service provider
A service provider is an entity that provides services to other entities. Usually, this refers to a business that provides subscription or web service to other businesses or individuals. Examples of these services include Internet access, Mobile phone operators, and web application hosting...
s. In future the capacity will be augmented to multiple STM-1s/ STM4s at each location.
Wi-Fi & WiMax
RailTel is all set to Unwire rural areas with High Speed Broadband connectivity using the future proof WiMax
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
technology. On the strength of this network, RailTel plans to offer Broadband Internet, VoIP and other Value Added Services including E-Governance
EGovernment
E-Government is digital interactions between a government and citizens , government and businesses/Commerce , government and employees , and also between government and governments /agencies...
applications at your finger tip instantly. RailTel has already been allotted spectrum in 2.7 GHz band by DoT in this regard. For this project RailTel has entered into an MoU with private organizations under PPP (Public Private Partnership
Public-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...
) initiative. In addition RailTel has already started making various Railway stations
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
Wi-Fi/ WiMAX enabled thereby enabling passengers to connect to Internet using their Laptops, Handhelds and other Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
devices in Railway stations.
Railwire
With the formation of extensive and robust Pan India Fiber network RailTel is in a position to offer various bandwidth intensive application to its customers. One such initiative is RailWIRE, a joint venture with MSOs to provide Voice, Video and Multimedia access on a single wire at home/office. Customers in urban and even rural areas can now experience the power of Triple play services. Digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
channels can be broadcast to the end users on the strength of this network along with broadband Internet, VoIP and other services simultaneously. For more details please log on to www.railwire.in.
Cyber Cafes
RailTel plans to open Cyber Cafes on various Railway Stations across the country. In First phase 83 cities have been identified for cafes. Out of which 24 cafes is already operational.The remaining cafes are already under implementation and are expected to be operational in a year time. The Cyber Cafes are fully Air-conditioned
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
. The services offered at Cafes:- Internet browsing, Internet telephony, Scanning of documents, Video conferencing
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference by a set of telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously...
, Audio video chatting, printing of documents and CD writing etc.
BANDWIDTH SERVICES (From 64 Kbps to 10Gbps)
RailTel has a vast OFC network capable of providing bandwidth services at a large number of towns and cities across the country. RailTel is uniquely positioned to provide these services with following features.
Bandwidth at various granularities
Secure and protected OFC path
24 Strand single mode fibre armoured OFC
Network engineered for SDH, and DWDM
Edge & access layer by STM1/4 /16
Network enabled for IP, ATM, frame relay
Frame relay
Frame Relay is a standardized wide area network technology that specifies the physical and logical link layers of digital telecommunications channels using a packet switching methodology...
, Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet is a term describing various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second , as defined by the IEEE 802.3-2008 standard. It came into use beginning in 1999, gradually supplanting Fast Ethernet in wired local networks where it performed...
and seamless connectivity
Extensive reach although STM-1/ 16 dropping at every small/ remote location
Centralized and regional NMSs.
INTERNET SERVICES
RailTel is also offering internet services as an ISP (Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
). It has an ISP category-A license to provide these services. This service is available all along the OFC network of Railtel.
Features
RailTel is offering Internet Services all along its network. Corporates as well as individual or groups can avail of it.
The network supports voice over internet protocol (VOIP) or internet telephony.
An unrivaled network infrastructure with multiple Internet backbone
Internet backbone
The Internet backbone refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers in the Internet...
providers to keep your data flowing and your access to the Internet protected, 24/7.
Rock-solid, always reliable based on state-of-the-art systems.
The Internet connectivity and speed provided by RailTel supports all kinds of usage including VOIP and Video Chat
The Internet connectivity and speed provided by RailTel supports all kinds of usage including VOIP and Video Chat
RailTel plans to open about 250 Cyber Cafes on Railway Stations across the country . In First phase 83 cities have been identified for cafes. Out of which 7 cafes is already operational ( New Delhi , Hyedrabad, Banglore, Gorakhpur, Asansol, Jhansi and Pune ) .The remaining cafes are already under implementation and are expected to be operational in a year time. The Cyber Cafes are fully Air-conditioned . The services offered at Cafes :- Internet browsing , Internet telephony , Scanning of documents , Video conferencing , Audio video chatting, printing of documents and CD writing etc.
CO-LOCATION FACILITIES
Towers space is available for installing antennae at more than 1000 locations.
There are various such locations which are being used by over a dozen satisfied customers including basic service operators, cell operators, Entertainment and Media organizations
Towers locations are spread throughout the country. Space available for installing electronic equipment. Electricity and Co-Location
Colocation centre
A colocation centre or colocation center , is a type of data centre where equipment space and bandwidth are available for rental to retail customers...
facilities available in secure railway premises in nationwide Railway infrastructure. RailTel is also tying up with tower Infrastructure companies to provide managed services
Managed services
Managed services is the practice of transferring day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations inclusive of Production Support and lifecycle build/maintenance activities...
and establishing new Towers. List of Existing Towers
Northern Region 257
Eastern Region 434
Western Region 162
Southern Region 156
Total Towers 1009
VPN Services
RailTel is capable of providing virtual private network
Virtual private network
A virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....
s for corporates. The RailTel infrastructure for VPN is based on MPLS (Multi protocol Label Switching
Multiprotocol Label Switching
Multiprotocol Label Switching is a mechanism in high-performance telecommunications networks that directs data from one network node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses, avoiding complex lookups in a routing table. The labels identify virtual links between...
) technology ensuring top class IP VPN services. MPLS system allows full control over parameters that are critical to offering secure and efficient VPN service. Thus the industrial houses can have a very secure fiber connectivity and RailTel can meet all their voice and data VPN requirements.
NLD
RailTel has launched NLD business by signing IUC (Interconnect) Agreement with major operators across India. The NLD infrastructure has been built, is based on Next Generation Network (NGN) Technology. This will enable operators to offer cheaper STD (National Long Distance) services to subscribers using RailTel's NLD Network.
Network has been rolled out in 18 cities and will be increased to more cities in the future. The proposed cities are Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore, Coimbatore, Secunderabad, Madurai, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Jallandhar, Lucknow, New Delhi, Bhubneshwar, Kolkata and Patna On the strength of this network RailTel will be able to offer not only Class 4 services but can further enhance its service portfolio by offering various value added services (VAS) like enterprise VoIP, etc.
See also
- http://www.railtelindia.com/
External Links