Govt to allow telecom towers in border areas

The government today said it will allow private and public telecom players to set up towers in the border areas to improve mobile connectivity.

"The government has recently lifted the restriction on telecom firms for setting up of telecom towers near international borders. Other than some areas in LoC, we will allow telecom players to set up towers near the borders," Minister of State for IT and Communications Sachin Pilot told reporters on the sidelines of a FICCI event here.

Earlier, telecom service providers were not allowed to install towers to receive signals within 500 metres near the international border.

Allaying concerns over interference, Pilot said use of technology would help check the same from a foreign telecom network.

State-run BSNL is already planning to erect 10,000 towers across the country, many of which would be installed in villages bordering Bangladesh and Pakistan.