A new Framework Agreement for the GINS (Government Intranet System) network, in line with Government’s vision to further digitalise and modernise public services, was signed, this afternoon, in the presence of the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin, at the SICOM Tower, Ebène.
The signatories were the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ms Sandrine Valere, and the Head of Government Solutions and Special Projects of Mauritius Telecom, Mr Sandeep Rambhojun.
Minister Balgobin underlined that the backbone of an infrastructure rests on a good and robust connectivity between Government sites and the Government Online Centre (GOC), as well as state-of-the-art technologies to support digital services. “This calls for a transformation of the GINS network to accompany the digitalisation roadmap for an intelligent and smart Mauritius hence the enhancement of the existing GINS”, he said.
He recalled that the GINS was launched in 2004 with the aim of providing secure internet access adding that it currently interconnects around 224 Government sites. Following a procurement exercise, MT has been selected to implement the new GINS network, he stated.
On this score, Minister Balgobin indicated that GINS will serve 300 additional Government Sites over the next three years including 160 secondary schools across Mauritius and Rodrigues. The new phase will start in the coming weeks reaching more than 500 sites having high-speed connectivity to the GOC, he added.
The GINS 2.0, he stated, is built on a fully-fibred network using SD-WAN technology and delivers a robust and secure branch connectivity over different fibre or mobile network connectivity thereby improving network capacity effectively.
His Ministry, he highlighted, is constantly promoting accessibility of digital services and a reliable and high connectivity is key to realising this vision. He underlined that this initiative will further support the country’s efforts in moving to the next level of development while enhancing the quality of public service.
For his part, Mr Rambhojun underscored that some 533 sites will be managed under the framework agreement representing the largest SD-WAN network in Mauritius. He also reiterated MT’s determination to support the Government in the modernisation of the public services.
