Telecom Minister writes to CMs to allow mobile towers in govt buildings

In a move aimed at providing a relief to consumers from call drop woes, the Centre has asked the states to let telecom service providers (TSPs) install towers at government establishments. “The Centre has asked the Chief Ministers of all states to allow mobile towers on government buildings within their jurisdiction to check the problem of “call drop” plaguing mobile communication networks,” said Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology.

Stressing on measures taken by Department of Telecom (DoT) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to reduce call drops, Prasad said, “Several steps have already been taken over the last few weeks and TSPs are also providing updates to the Ministry on a weekly basis. The Ministry is confident that issues of call drops will be taken care of by the end of October.”

Hailing the move of TRAI’s recommendations of compensation to telecom users facing call drops, Prasad said, “We must welcome the suggestions of TRAI if recommendations are in the best interest of users as it is the prime role of the Ministry to guard their concerns.”

While taking a jibe at the erstwhile UPA government, the IT Minister said, “We all know that Sanchar Bhavan was known for all the wrong reasons during the UPA regime. The NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is paying for that as we are cleaning up the mess left by the previous government headed by the Congress.”