Cell tower woes hit Noida ‘connectivity’
23 March 2015 12:00 AM GMT
The mobile users have started complaining of call drops and loss of internet connection. The crisis is likely to deepen on Monday as the residents have been warned of a power cut off to all towers.
Notably, there are as many as 520 towers installed at residential units in the city, out of which, more than 180 have gone off air.
Satish Batra, president of Resident’s Tower Association (RTA), said the tower landlords have been asked to cut power connections. “Till evening, around five dozen towers have been cut out of power supply and the number will go up with each passing hour. The move was initiated after show-cause notices issued by the Noida Authority to the RTA members asking them to remove the towers from residential areas or face cancellation of land lease. Although it will lead to a total disruption of telephonic service, we want to shift these towers to other locations,” said Batra.
The officials of Noida Authority, however, have said that they have just issued notices and have not cancelled lease deeds of any of the landlords. “The authority does not supply power to the telcos, thus it has little concern about the move of TRA members. Now, with reports of power disruptions, we have decided to talk with the RTA office bearers and the representatives of telcos. Hopefully, we will come out with an amicable solution of this problem,” said VK Panwar, Additional CEO of Noida Authority.
“The telecom tower landlords have informed the Noida Authority that the landlords will be switching off electricity and denying access to the tower company representatives in-charge of operation and maintenance of towers, following several show-cause notices issued by Noida Authority to the owners to remove the towers or face cancellation of the land lease of those properties hosting the towers,” said a joint statement issued by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) and Towers and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA) on Sunday. Nitin Narain, an office bearer of COAI, said that they are concerned with the ongoing crisis and have decided to hold discussions with the concerned authorities.
“Presently we have asked the towers to run on back-up, so we could minimise the problem but once back-up is over, the situation will deteriorate. We will convene a meeting on Monday in this regard to decide upon the next move,” said Narain.
Notably, there are as many as 520 towers installed at residential units in the city, out of which, more than 180 have gone off air.
Satish Batra, president of Resident’s Tower Association (RTA), said the tower landlords have been asked to cut power connections. “Till evening, around five dozen towers have been cut out of power supply and the number will go up with each passing hour. The move was initiated after show-cause notices issued by the Noida Authority to the RTA members asking them to remove the towers from residential areas or face cancellation of land lease. Although it will lead to a total disruption of telephonic service, we want to shift these towers to other locations,” said Batra.
The officials of Noida Authority, however, have said that they have just issued notices and have not cancelled lease deeds of any of the landlords. “The authority does not supply power to the telcos, thus it has little concern about the move of TRA members. Now, with reports of power disruptions, we have decided to talk with the RTA office bearers and the representatives of telcos. Hopefully, we will come out with an amicable solution of this problem,” said VK Panwar, Additional CEO of Noida Authority.
“The telecom tower landlords have informed the Noida Authority that the landlords will be switching off electricity and denying access to the tower company representatives in-charge of operation and maintenance of towers, following several show-cause notices issued by Noida Authority to the owners to remove the towers or face cancellation of the land lease of those properties hosting the towers,” said a joint statement issued by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) and Towers and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA) on Sunday. Nitin Narain, an office bearer of COAI, said that they are concerned with the ongoing crisis and have decided to hold discussions with the concerned authorities.
“Presently we have asked the towers to run on back-up, so we could minimise the problem but once back-up is over, the situation will deteriorate. We will convene a meeting on Monday in this regard to decide upon the next move,” said Narain.
Next Story
