Ä¢¹½´«Ã½

To address the disaster risk challenges arising across the telecommunications infrastructure system, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) conducted a national and sub-national scale study for disaster risk and resilience assessment of the telecommunications sector in India. The study adopts a multi-hazard assessment approach for telecommunications and its interconnected infrastructure systems across various geographies vis-avis mountains, plains and coasts. It considers different technological options: terrestrial, underground and space, across three miles of telecommunications network. The study also deep dives into the upstream and downstream impacts on the interdependent infrastructure systems for all phases of disasters (pre, during and post).

The report highlights numerous action points for national and sub-national stakeholders across five domains of Policy, Planning and Institutions, Technical Planning and Design, Operation and Maintenance, Financial Arrangements and Incentives, and Expertise. The short-to medium-term roadmap suggests the need to update disaster damage & 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, map the optical fibre network on GIS platform, community awareness programme for IntraCircle Roaming (ICR) activation, install telecommunication tower in disaster shelter premises through a cost-sharing model, comprehensive assessment for pre-positioning of temporary telecommunication network and broader adoption of High Altitude Platform System (HAPS) to establish emergency connectivity. Whereas the long-term roadmap suggests developing a single window permission system, adding redundancy to the existing network, increasing latency for better interoperability with SATCOM technologies, provision for annual budget allocation to strengthen disaster resilience of infrastructure systems, parametric insurance products to extend disaster risk financing support, provision of specialized Indian shipping vessels for faster restoration of submarine cables and developing a countrywide network resilience index.