Tech Telecom

The Department of Telecom (DoT) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is closely working on the formal request sent by MHA for the urgent deployment of towers in left-wing extremism (LWE) hit areas in next two years.

BSNL along with homegrown vendors, Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL) and Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited (HFCL) recently concluded the first phase of world’s largest solar-powered GSM network with a total of 2,199 mobile tower sites.

Gurgaon-based VNL is the main partner which has installed 1,315 sites, while HFCL has deployed 521 solar-powered mobile towers in the Naxal-hit areas that include states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.

“We are expecting BSNL to float tender for the second phase of the LWE network project rollout within the next six to eight months time,” said VNL chairman Rajiv Mehrotra.

Out of the total telecom tower base, 1,315 would be maintained by VNL and 521 by HFCL for a five-year term which could be extended after a review, while the pre-existing 363 towers were kept out from the ambit of two companies. According to reports this initiative has generated about 6,000 tribal jobs including 200 at senior levels.

“The entire initiative is fully-Indian and localized in sync with government’s vision of ‘Make in India’ and renewable energy focus, and despite harsh conditions and continuous threat to our staff, we were finally able to deploy the required cell sites in Naxalite areas”, Mehrotra said.

Conceived by the MHA to combat insurgency in the left-wing extremism affected areas, DoT’s Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund is bearing the Rs 3,567.58 crore project cost. The project was initially approved by the Cabinet in June 2013.

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