ITI commissions network for Army

Public sector Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) has commissioned 'Mercury Flash' in Kolkata. It is a strategic broadband satellite network which provides secure broadband bridges between remote stations.

According to Y K Pandey, chairman and managing director, ITI it also provides secure and reliable voice, data, video and other telematic services to stations in the network on demand. The network is controlled by a powerful and intelligent Network Management System.

'Mercury Flash' is the only network with emphasis on greater network availability and information assurance with a view to transforming the Indian Army into a network-enabled force, he added.

The hardware and software requirement for the network have been developed by the company indigenously.

The company on Wednesday gave a demonstration of video conferencing over the fully secured satellite network, with the defence minister speaking from Fort William, Kolkata to general officer commanding-in-chief, Southern Command at Pune for about 15 minutes.

Also later in the day, top Army officers interacted with their counterparts at various locations like Shillong, Srinagar and Leh.

Pandey said, 'Mercury Flash' adds yet another dimension to the microwave radio and optical fibre media already existing in the strategic network and improves its robustness.