This lok Sabha election, people will be able to enjoy uninterrupted mobile connectivity, and courtesy goes to the Election Commission of India.
The Electoral Office of Delhi has instructed all telecom service providers to ensure congestion-free mobile network so that communication related to polling procedure is not affected. The step comes in the light of the bitter experience the election office had during the last Assembly elections when communication with the Returning Officers snapped during crucial hours.
Electoral Office of Delhi issued stern orders to Bharti Airtel, Aircel, Reliance Telecom, Vodafone, Tata Tele Services, Idea, MTNl, MTS and others in Delhi to strengthen their mobile networks around more than 2,500 polling stations in the city and also around the offices of all the seven Returning Officers as well as the counting centres in the Capital.
The Department of Telecommunications has also been asked to issue necessary instructions to mobile service providers in this regard.
Mobile Service Providers will provide detailed information about bulk SMSes (more than 100 SMSes of political nature transmitted during the campaign period. They are required to furnish this detail every day at 10.30 am to CEO’s office. During the Assembly polls 2013, this detail was provided without assessing the expenditure from the candidate or the political party. Now the expenditure on SMSes has to be monitored and ascertained comprehensively.
For this, a pro forma has been issued by the CEO office and all the mobile service providers will fill the required detail and send the same to the CEO office. The TRAI shall also issue instructions to the mobile service providers and third party operators for strict compliance of the ECI guidelines. The CEO has ordered prohibition on transmitting bulk SMSes of political nature from 5 pm on April 8 till 5 pm on April 10, the day of voting in the capital.
The CEO has directed all mobile service providers to keep strict vigil on bulk purchase of SIM cards. particularly pre-paid SIM cards. Service providers will have to issue instructions to vendors to ensure proper verification of new connections and activation of new SIM cards under Standard Operation Procedure. Mobile Service Providers shall keep check over abnormal purchase of SIM cards by their distributors during the lok Sabha elections. Any abnormal sale will be immediately reported to the CEO with details including the name of distributor, his area, quantity of purchase
and reasons explaining the abnormality.
In order to generate awareness and ensure optimum voting on April 10, the chief electoral officer has directed all the mobile service providers to transmit Voter Awareness SMS to all their customers.