Telcos activate intra-circle roaming as Cyclone Dana set to hit Odisha

Telecom service providers in Odisha have activated intra-circle roaming in seven districts of the state which were put under red-warning' for cyclone Dana, a minister said on Thursday.

State Electronic and IT Minister Mukesh Mahaling said the intra-circle roaming allows telecom operators to use each other's network and such an arrangement has been activated in Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur and Cuttack districts since 8 am. 

 

As per a circular issued by the Department of Telecommunication, the intra-circle roaming facility has been activated among all four service providersBSNL, Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone, he said.

"With the activation of the facility, telecom users can avail uninterrupted service in the seven districts," he said.

DG sets have been made available at all telecom towers to manage the situation if there is an electricity failure, the minister said.

The telecom service providers have also kept their technical teams ready to repair any damage to towers by the cyclone, he added.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department's latest bulletin at 5.30 pm, 'Dana' moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 13 kmph during the past 6 hours and lay centred about 90 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 110 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha) and 210 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal).

The IMD has forecast that the cyclone is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port late Thursday night or early Friday morning.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio, in a press statement, said it has taken several measures to ensure that the people of Odisha and West Bengal stay connected during the cyclone.

The telecom service provider said it has set up 24x7 control rooms for real-time monitoring and quick restoration wherever needed.

Besides, multiple restoration teams with critical spares, adequate backup power solutions and battery-charging arrangements have been placed at key strategic locations in various districts, it said.

To further ensure that customers stay connected, Jio has enabled Interconnect Roaming (ICR) in Odisha and West Bengal, said a company official.

It will enable customers to remain connected with the available network irrespective of any service provider at that point in time, he added.