CIDA - India Project

Name of Client: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Location: Madhya Pradesh Province, India 
Start Date: May 2002
Completion Date: April 2004

Description of Project:
SaskTel International participated in a CIDA sponsored telecommunications Operations Project that was undertaken jointly by Government of India in cooperation with the Department of Telecommunications and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the major telephone company in India, and a Canadian Executing Agency composed of IBM Business Consulting Services and Saskatchewan Telecommunications International, Inc.

This CIDA funded initiative was to test, develop and apply a pilot Information and Communications Technology (ICT) project to 30 small villages in rural India. The project was to demonstrate a sustainable model that may be followed in future expansion of telecoms within rural India.

The work area defined for the project was in Madhya Pradesh state, approximately 100 km south of the state capital of Bhopal, in the Hoshanghbad and Harda Districts.

Description of Services:
SaskTel International’s role in the project was to study, develop and deliver the infrastructure to allow the ICT programs to be delivered to the communities. This involved studying the different technologies available for the provision of the services that are being designed, as well as developing budgetary pricing and options for the site works to take into account all the possible configurations that could have been used. Sustainability of the system is an important factor and the design models had to be keenly aware of the implementation costs and how they would affect the sustainability while still delivering quality service.

SaskTel International was also responsible for issuing RFP’s and contracting local and foreign firms for supply of equipment, civil works and other supplies and ensuring contractors met the schedule and timelines of the project.