Major telecom companies have asked Dot (Department of Telecommunications) to intervene as they face being put through tests checking their call drop rates just as municipal corporations of Delhi are going around sealing mobile tower sites. Last week, MCD closed down 16 such sites across the nation’s capital. And in August, 70 were reportedly shut down.
Mobile service providers have started panicking because they face certain disadvantage since every 40 sites that are sealed cause almost a 20 percent increase in call drop incidences, at an average. Last year, 1700 mobile towers were forced out of operation. There are murmurs about the government being likely to impose a penalty on companies who do not deal with the issue.
Network operators have less than two weeks to tackle the problem which even had Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for it to be resolved. The telcos claim municipal corporations across Delhi haven’t obeyed the High Court’s order to unseal mobile towers having the due permissions, reports PTI. Additionally, the civic bodies are said to be shutting down sites arbitrarily.
When RS Sharma took over as the chairman of TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in August, he stressed that call drops and net neutrality were his top priorities. It’s good to see the body handling this one issue at least, though we’re more keen to hear about the government’s decision on the latter. Various provisions are being made to handle the problem.
Communications and IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, told mobile operators to stop whining about lack of spectrum and optimize their networks to fix call drops. A few months ago, COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) insisted that mobile tower radiation is harmless. In spite of this, housing societies continue to maintain a tough stance on such installations.
And more recently, chief ministers of every state in India were requested to let mobile towers be installed on government buildings under their jurisdiction. But telcos will need more time to improve their infrastructure no doubt. All they’re asking for currently is more time.