NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has invited public and stakeholder feedback on the proposed architecture of a dedicated pan-India Broadband Public Protection and Disaster Relief (BB-PPDR) communication network designed to ensure reliable, secure and uninterrupted communication among police forces and emergency response agencies, particularly during situations arising out of disasters and network congestion.
The proposed system aims to provide Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT), Mission Critical Data and Mission Critical Video services to State and Union Territory police forces, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire services, medical teams and other public safety agencies.
In an official statement, the MHA said it was seeking expert views on technology choices, network design, implementation models, cost-effectiveness and the suitability of different approaches to Indian conditions. “The objective is to develop a reference architecture that can support coordinated operations across agencies during emergencies,” it noted.
According to the statement, the concept note containing details of the proposed system is available on the MHA and Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (DCPW) websites. “On the MHA portal, it can be accessed under Home/Documents/Orders and Circulars, while the DCPW website carries it under Stakeholder Consultations, Announcements and What's New,” it said.
“Comments and suggestions must be sent by November 5 to dd-ppdr@dcpw.gov.in and ad.ppdr@dcpw.gov.in, with the subject line ‘BB-PPDR Architecture Stakeholder Feedback’,” the MHA said.
The proposed network would leverage existing mobile operator towers while incorporating specialised capabilities for emergency communications, including secure group calls, real-time data and video sharing, and connectivity with dispatch centres, the MHA said, while noting that priority access and pre-emption mechanisms “are also being considered to ensure that emergency responders can communicate even when commercial networks are congested”.
Another key concern is the vulnerability of communication infrastructure during floods, earthquakes and other disasters. The concept note examines backup arrangements such as rapidly deployable mobile cell sites and satellite-supported equipment, alongside encryption, network security and interoperability between agencies.
“The consultation will help assess competing models, including a dedicated government-controlled network core and greater reliance on commercial telecom infrastructure. While sharing existing infrastructure could lower costs and accelerate deployment, a multi-operator framework may introduce additional integration challenges. The final design must balance affordability, coverage, reliability and operational control,” a senior MHA official said.
“Ten selected pilot locations are expected to help test the proposed approaches under varied conditions before a wider rollout. Reliability, outage recovery, inter-agency coordination and the cost of maintaining emergency access will be important parameters in evaluating the system’s performance,” the official said.