Telcos may have to implement Delhi-like action plan in Mumbai
MUMBAI:Expressing concern over the poor quality of mobile services in the financial capital, telecom secretary JS Deepak on Tuesday said telcos will soon be asked to prepare an action plan on lines of the one for Delhi to improve the services.
“In the commercial capital, we need to have the best connectvity...Mumbai cannot be lower in priority than Delhi,” Deepak said, adding that a meeting of telcos and the civic body has been convened later on Tuesday to discuss the specifics and improve the service quality, especially in the “dark spots”.
Speaking on the “dark spots,” Deepak specified the rail network that carries upwards of 6.5 million passengers everyday and the South Mumbai are as among the problem areas in the megapolis.
Deepak said the department will also be discussing the possibility of erecting telecom infrastructure on the railway network, for the benefit of passengers. In June, the department had announced a 100-day plan to upgrade the quality of services in the national capital region, under which telcos had committed to invest ₹12,000 crore and install over 60,000 towers to check the issue of call drops.
Sector watchdog Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has asked the government to amend laws to give it powers for imposing fine of up to ₹10 crore on operators and jail term of up to two years for their executives.
“The problems are similar in many ways. It is a requirement of investment, requirement of infrastructure, requirement not to seal towers and using technology for better optimisation,” Deepak said.