Gemini bags Rs 75-cr TNEB order

Chennai: Gemini Communication Ltd, a Chennai-based provider of communication and networking solutions, has bagged a Rs 75-crore order from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to computerise 1,725 collection centres under the BEST (Billing for Essential Services in TNEB) scheme.

This is the second phase of the project that will be used by eight chief engineers, and expected to benefit over 1.5 crore consumers. With this project, TNEB will computerise all its collection centres spread across the State, says a company press release.

Gemini did the first phase for about 456 collection centres across nine regions costing Rs 50 crore. In the second phase, TNEB tendered for eight regions catering to 1,725 collection centres.

Gemini's proposed solution is based on 95 per cent wireless and 5 per cent leased lines. The remote rural office of TNEB will be connected to a circle office, which, in turn, will be linked to the regional office.

In the first phase, Gemini deployed the servers and storage products for the network and the data that is being typed in at the remote rural office will automatically be saved in the server of the regional office. As on date the regional offices have not been connected to one single data centre, and this could be taken up by TNEB after the second phase of the project is completed, the release says.

For the leased lines Gemini has approached Railtel and other private service providers. It is using PointRed wireless modems for the project, and over 4,500 modems will be deployed in the project.

It may be recalled that Gemini acquired the assets of PointRed Technologies Inc US in May 2006.