The introduction of video conferencing in the BBMP on July 1, was slated to revolutionise its functioning in a big way, since directions from the headquarters could be conveyed to officials in all the eight zones simultaneously. But these grand plans have been pushed back by an entire month and the facility is likely to be ready only by the first week of August.

Disclosing this to Metrolife, V M Sivakumar, the advisor for Information Technology in the BBMP said, “The infrastructure will be set in place by BSNL by the end of July and so conference-related activities will start in August."

Elaborating on the reasons for the delay, General Manager, Business Development, BSNL Chandrashekar, said, “The delivery of equipment from the companies we have ordered has been delayed. There has also been a delay in the supply of routers. It normally takes five to six weeks for routers to be delivered. By August, everything will be in place.”

Sivakumar added, "Presentations from the headquarters can be viewed by sitting at the zones and officials from the zones would also be able to do their presentations from there. Another major advantage would be that audio conferencing data can be transferred from one place and print-outs of the same can be taken." Travel expenses incurred in commuting between the zones can also be reduced. 

IP phones
Another major development on the communication front in the BBMP offices will be the procurement of Internet Protocol (IP) phones for all its offices before October this year. This follows discussions between the IT advisor, former BBMP commissioner K Jairaj and top officials. "This move will reduce the phone expenses of the BBMP in a big way. The rental as well as usage charges can be cut down and the only expense will be that spent on procurement of equipment," Sivakumar said.