New Delhi: RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RailTel), a PSU under the Ministry of Railways, has been conferred with the prestigious Navratna status by the Department of Public Enterprises. This recognition elevates RailTel as the 22nd CPSE to achieve this distinction, underscoring the company's remarkable progress since its inception.
Established on September 26, 2000, RailTel has rapidly grown from an in-house telecom service provider for Indian Railways into one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in India. It is also a trusted provider of end-to-end IT and ICT services. Achieving Navratna status within just 24 years is a testament to RailTel's accelerated growth and strategic vision.
With the newly acquired Navratna status, RailTel will now enjoy greater financial autonomy, allowing it to increase capital expenditure and further expand its extensive network. This enhanced status is expected to facilitate the company's ambitions to explore and grow its business ventures internationally.
Expressing his excitement over the achievement, RailTel's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Sanjai Kumar stated, "We are thrilled to receive this remarkable recognition. As we step into our 25th foundation year, the Navratna status is the perfect beginning to our silver jubilee celebrations. I extend my sincere gratitude to our parent Ministry – the Ministry of Railways, along with the Ministry of Finance, DPE, DoT, MeitY, other government departments, and our stakeholders for their support and guidance. I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to the entire RailTel team, whose hard work and dedication have made this achievement possible."
RailTel's robust infrastructure includes a 62,000 Route Kilometers (RKM) optical fiber network along railway tracks, a 21,000 KM citywide access network, over 11,000 Points of Presence (PoPs), and 1,100 telecom towers across the country. The company has also established one of the world's largest integrated public Wi-Fi networks, providing services at 6,112 railway stations nationwide. This infrastructure is managed by a Central Network Operation Centre (CNOC) and four region-based Network Operation Centres (NOCs).
RailTel holds telecom licenses (IP-1, NLD, ISP) and offers a comprehensive range of services under one roof, including Tier III data center services, a Security Operation Centre, and MeitY-empaneled cloud services. RailTel’s service portfolio encompasses MPLS VPN, leased lines, tower co-location, data center services, cloud services, security operation center services, HD video conferencing, Aadhaar-based authentication systems, e-tendering, retail broadband under the brand RailWire, IT and ICT projects, and railway signaling projects.
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