Aiming to resolve call drops issues, India mobile operators are seeking a uniform tower policy for the whole country. While the government is blaming telcos for the poor situation of call drops in the country, telecom companies are of the opinion that this menace can be resolved in coordiation and co-operation with the government.
The operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, blamed several challenges like sealing orders by local bodies, power supply issues and difficulties in getting clearances for installing sites, for call drops.
Telecom operators said that about 7,000-10,000 sites are locked or shut down across major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Patna and Jaipur due to various reasons, including sealing orders by local bodies without prior notice.
"We need a uniform national tower policy which can be implemented nationally and not just guidelines," Idea Cellular MD Himanshu Kapania said.
Telcos demanded that telecom services and infrastructure be declared as essential services and they should be allowed to install towers on government buildings.
On likelihood of call drops worsening further going forward, Vodafone India MD & CEO Sunil Sood said, "If you don't get a tower policy, yes, it will."
Sood said Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has already come out in favour of the industry for installing more sites and also allayed fears with regard to radiation threat.
"Unless more towers come, problem of call drops and other issues faced by the customers always happen," he said.
When asked about the possible punitive action by the government over call drops, Sood said government has not given any such statement.
When referred to Telecom Minister and telecom secretary's statements over the issue, he said "government is more than one person".
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