On building resilient telecom infrastructure | Explained

The story so far: The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, a multilateral organisation launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, put out a report earlier this month studying Indian telecom networks’ preparedness in the event of disasters. Pradeep Kumar Jena, former Chief Secretary of Odisha, said, “sometimes a tower operator may not have enough power available at a time of disaster for whatever reason — one can’t blame at that point of time,” and when this happens, “we decide, let’s give every telecom operator 50 litres of fuel.” Even if the fuel is wasted, the ₹50 lakh spent on it goes a long way in keeping networks online, he said. The CDRI report recommends a few measures to develop a resilient telecom network These include greater data collection and more coordination among officials, a more robust power infrastructure, and requiring cell towers to withstand higher wind speeds, especially in coastal States and districts where hurricanes make landfall. “The short- to medium-term roadmap suggests the need to update disaster damage and loss data format, mainstream disaster risk modelling into telecommunications infrastructure planning across all miles, strengthen telecommunications asset design based on local and regional hazard vulnerability profiles,” and other steps to plan ahead, the report says.