Telcos install 48,000 towers in 45 days to tackle call drops

The operators in a meeting with telecom secretary JS Deepak on June 10 had assured that they will set up 60,000 mobile towers across the country in 100 days

To tackle the problem of call drops, telecom operators have installed 48,000 mobile towers across the country in the past 45 days and have said they'll add a total of 100,000 in one year. Communications minister Manoj Sinha, after meet chief executives of telecom companies, expressed satisfaction over the progress made on improving the quality of services. The operators had in a meeting with ministry secretary J S Deepak on June 10 assured setting up 60,000 base tower stations or mobile towers across the country in 100 days. Of this, 48,000 have been installed. Rajan S Mathews, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, said  it took Rs 15-20 lakh to set up a mobile tower. "They have committed to a one-year plan. Their performance has been satisfactory but government wants that improvement in networks should be experienced by consumers," said Sinha. “The quality of service for voice calls should not be sacrificed to cater to data services,” the minister emphasised.

He emphasised the need for improved planning by use of modern approaches such as Geographic Information Systems for network planning, frequency tuning, using of automatic frequency plan tools and drive tests to check interference, on a periodic basis. Also, finding new locations for new towers by use of three-dimensional map data and study of changing city scopes.

The chief executives who attended the meeting included Bharti Airtel’s Gopal Vittal, Idea Cellular’s Himanshu Kapania and Sunil Sood of Vodafone India.

The minister emphasised the need for expansion of network and services at affordable rates.

Regarding spectrum, Sinha said any shortage of airwaves would be solved in September's auction, wherein 2,300 MHz of radiowaves would be put on sale, at an estimated Rs 5.66 lakh crore at the base price. Operators have also sought the opening of new frequency bands, of 71-76 GHz and 50 GHz. Wireless services in these bands are considered to deliver broadband speed of up to 1 gigabit per second, as in the case of optical fibres.