A day after warning telecom operators with stern actions if the problem of “call drop” was not resolved at the earliest, the Centre on Thursday said the premises of Government buildings and other infrastructures can be used for installation of cell phone towers to ease the situation for mobile phone users.
Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu directed his department to allow Central Government buildings and other structures for installation of cell phone towers, said sources in the Ministry.
“Call Drop” problem is being attributed to inadequate infrastructure including towers in the context of rapid expansion of mobile phone users in the country. Call drops hurt mobile phone subscribers, who number about 961 million.
Telecom operators have pointed out to the shortage of both spectrum and towers. Towers act as boosters that help radio waves travel better. According to reports, there are about 10,000 towers closed down by the civic authorities across the country. Many cities like Delhi and Mumbai have far fewer towers than are needed.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a discussion on the “inaction of telecom operators on call drops” at the Union Cabinet meeting asked Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to “be firm” with industry players and take stern measures if the situation did not improve.
Naidu and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley were of the opinion that while the Government must do all it can for facilitating erection of network towers in Government buildings, the operators were not doing enough and not investing to spruce up infrastructure.
The Prime Minister had earlier too expressed his displeasure with operators during a discussion with infrastructure sector secretaries and remarked that consumers get irritated with call drops and end up cursing the Government, said the sources.
Trai has also asked the telecom companies to disclose information on the number of consumers they have in each circle and whether they can provide services effectively with their existing infrastructure.