The smart poles will also be used as wi-fi hotspot, mobile towers, and as street lighting and surveillance poles
State-owned telecommunications company, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), has signed a pact with Finnish multinational Nokia for jointly marketing and deploying smart poles that can detect levels of pollution in the area and alert the concerned offices.
“We have signed an agreement with Nokia to jointly market and deploy smart poles across the country. These smart poles are capable of detecting pollution levels and alert the concerned office for timely action. It will also sense pollution level in air where stubble burningtakes place,” Anupam Shrivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL, said at the India Mobile Congress.
Air pollution is one of the major concerns in India. Air quality in the country’s capital is deteriorating day-by-day, gradually moving towards the ‘severe’ category. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Friday recorded the Air Quality Index in New Delhi at 358 that comes under the ‘very poor’ category.
Smart poles are multi-purpose
Initially, BSNL has bought 50 smart poles for Rs 46 lakh per unit from the Finnish multinational. The smart poles will also be used as wi-fi hotspot, mobile towers, and as street lighting and surveillance poles, informed Shrivastava.
Both BSNL and Nokia are looking to deploy these smart poles across India and are in discussions with several municipal bodies for the deployment of these poles, he said.
Cyber security threats
In addition, BSNL inked a pact with Indian telecom gear manufacturer, Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL), to discover possibilities for setting indigenous secured network for countering external cyber security threats such as illegal tapping, snooping, etc.
Shrivastava said that it is the need of the hour to have a secured network of communication in order to protect the data from external cyber threats. BSNL is looking forward to closely work with VNL and create technologically sound security system to guard the network against any threat such as data thefts.
