48,000 new telecom sites installed in 45 days: Minister

Aimed at curbing call drops, 48,000 new telecom sites have been set up across the country by various operators as part of a 100-day plan which they committed to the government earlier.

"They assured that the target for the 100-day programme, as committed to the (telecom) secretary, will be met. They indicated that from the beginning of June 10 (when the 100-day programme started), there will be addition of around 60,000 BTS (base transceiver station) in 100 days across the country, out of which 48,000 has been installed in the first 45 days," Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge), said here on Monday.

He was speaking to reporters after concluding his first meeting with the telecom service operators after taking charge earlier this month.

All the telecom operators were present in the meeting.

Earlier this month, after taking charge of the office, the minister said: "Call drop is another issue we are discussing in all seriousness. In the coming 4-5 months, you will see work happening on that front."

On Monday, Sinha reiterated that the next phase of telecom spectrum auction will take place in September.

The government is expecting to mop up around Rs 5.66 lakh crore from the upcoming biggest-ever telecom airwaves auction.

With regard to the spectrum, a Cabinet meeting last month had approved the auction of over 2,300 MHz of airwaves in seven bands -- 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz. The previous round had seen 470.75 MHz on the block.

Based on the pan-India reserve price, the mop-up can be as much as $84 billion this year, as against $17 billion the last time.

--IANS

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