Securing BharatNet Phase III with Centralized Access Control 

Industry & Solution 

Telecom & Government Infrastructure | High-Availability TACACS+ Authentication & Access Control 

About the Client 

BharatNet is India’s ambitious digital infrastructure program aimed at connecting all Gram Panchayats (GPs) through high-speed broadband. It plays a vital role in bridging the digital divide by providing last-mile connectivity, empowering rural India with reliable internet access for education, healthcare, e-governance, and commerce. 

The Challenge 

BharatNet’s Phase III rollout required a robust and secure foundation to manage access across its massive IP-MPLS backbone. The key challenges were: 

• Securing access for multiple vendors and administrators. 

• Lack of centralized authentication and role-based controls. 

• Manual onboarding and revocation processes leading to delays. 

• Limited traceability and compliance monitoring. 

• Risk of unauthorized access in a highly distributed environment. 

• Downtime risks during vendor transitions. 

Our Solution 

Advantal Technologies deployed a high-availability TACACS+ cluster with centralized, secure, and scalable access management across UP East, UP West, Punjab, MP, and DD. 

Authentication & Authorization 

• Centralized TACACS+ authentication with role-based and time-bound access. 

• Two-factor authentication (2FA) for high-privilege users. 

Audit & Compliance 

• Real-time audit logging for full traceability. 

• Compliance-ready monitoring with secured logs. 

Integration & Efficiency 

• Custom TACACS+ daemon integrated with scalable backend API. 

• Vendor access management with auto-expiry and zero downtime. 

Operational Enhancements 

• Automated access workflows with faster onboarding and revocation. 

• Seamless integration into the BharatNet IP-MPLS ring network topology. 

Technologies Used 

• TACACS+ High-Availability Cluster 

• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) 

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) 

• Real-Time Audit Logging 

• Scalable Backend API 

• IP-MPLS Network Integration 

Results That Matter 

• 99% faster user revocation, enhancing security responsiveness. 

• Reduction in onboarding time for new vendors and admins. 

• Zero downtime during vendor access transitions. 

• Full compliance traceability with real-time audit logging. 

• Stronger access security across multi-state BharatNet deployments. 

Real-Time Operational Insights 

• Transparent visibility into every access attempt and change. 

• Streamlined vendor management with automatic access expiry. 

• Proactive compliance adherence reducing future audit risks.