Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, May 14: For increasing the mobile phone signal strength and covering the left over areas, particularly the border and remote inhabitants in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is installing 125 more towers in the State.
Work in this regard has been taken up in three phases with special emphasis on uncovered areas and March 2014 is the deadline for completion of the project, which is worth Rs 35 crore, authoritative sources informed the Excelsior.
Under the ongoing first phase, 43 towers are being installed in erstwhile Doda district while areas of Ladakh and border belts in Poonch- Rajouri, Jammu and Kathua, including border belts will be covered in second and third phase, sources added.
While signal strength and traffic congestion are the criteria, being followed for identification of the area to be selected for installation of new towers, consent of defence forces is ought to taken for covering the border belts, sources explained.
Owing to the security reasons, mobile towers in inhabitations along Line of Control and International Border will be oriented in such a way that their signal may not spillover across the other side, sources said.
There were usual complaints of poor connectivity in certain areas, particularly in remote pockets while installation of mobile towers within ten kilometers from the Line of Control and International Border was earlier barred in Jammu Kashmir owing to security reasons. Due to non-availability of connectivity in the border areas, Pakistani mobile signals used to be received in Indian territory.
Even as the Union Government removed bar on installation of mobile towers along LoC and IB last year, BSNL is taking all precautious in this regard such as permission of Army for the same and no spillover of the signal to other side, sources said.
When contacted, Chief General Manager of the BSNL J&K Circle, R K Koul confirmed that work on installation of 43 towers in Doda, Bhaderwah and Kishtwar areas was going with full pace under the first phase of ongoing project. “The integration of Main Switch Exchange (MSE) with BSE and Media Gate Way is near completion and the BTS are being installed at the newly erected towers,” he said adding that the ongoing phase would complete within next two months.
In some areas, the BSNL is also replacing existing towers of Erricson made equipments with ZTE for technical compliance while the old ones are being installed in new pockets, the CGM explained adding that entire work on the project will be completed by March 2014.
With the installation of these additional 125 towers and making them operational, people in remote pockets and border areas of Jammu Kashmir are all set to get connectivity through BSNL mobile services soon, he said.
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