RailTel Corporation of India signed an agreement with InoviTel (PTY) LTD and Tsiko Africa Energy & Infrastructure. This three-way agreement will see RailTel working together with the two South African companies. The goal is to bring Indian technology and products to South Africa and neighboring countries.
The main purposes of this agreement include activating and commercializing unused fiber optic cables (dark fibre) along railway lines and high voltage power transmission lines in South Africa. It also involves providing railway signaling and telecommunication solutions, digital twin modeling of railway assets for predictive maintenance, and fiber optic-based distributed acoustic sensing systems for railway operators in South Africa. Additionally, the agreement covers offering connectivity solutions to South African telecom network operators, as well as providing IT, ICT, and digitalization solutions to support South Africa’s digital transformation efforts.
The agreement was signed on April 24 in Pretoria, South Africa, in the presence of Prabhat Kumar, High Commissioner of India to South Africa, and Mahesh Kumar, Consul General of India in Johannesburg. Parag Kumar Goyal from RailTel exchanged the agreement with Lavine Singh of InoviTel and Pragasen Naidoo of Tsiko Africa Energy and Infrastructure.
In summary, this collaboration aims to facilitate the transfer of Indian technology and expertise to South Africa across sectors like telecommunications, railways, and IT through joint projects between the Indian public sector company RailTel and the two South African companies.
