Fast-track mobile projects in Northeast for resolving the unsettled issues by the Department of Telecom

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has chalked out plans to speed up USO (Universal Service Obligation)-funded mobile connectivity projects by resolving the unsettled issues relating to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the border areas on a priority basis, according to an internal action plan report of the DoT.

The key project to watch out for would be mobile connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam, which is pending for the last five years after approval.

All these projects run by the Government of India are funded by the USO Fund, a corpus having accumulated cess from the telcos which is currently Rs 50,000 crore.

“The proposal under submission is for resolving issues pertaining to the BSNL tender for implementation of mobile services in Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam, as the projects are stalled after the issuance of APO (Advance Purchase Order) due to a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court and other issues,” said an internal note of the DoT.

The Arunachal Pradesh and Assam projects got stuck after an SLP was filed in the Supreme Court against the use of 2G technology, terming it as outdated.

Ninong Ering, Congress’ Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal East, had also raised the issue of old technology. The USO Fund too refused to fund the project, saying 2G technology was old and obsolete.

But looking at the difficult terrains in the northeastern States, 2G-based mobile service is said to be suitable for the uncovered regions there in the absence of broadband backhaul where advanced technology may be found to be underutilized.

BSNL, the executing agency for 2,817 mobile towers, also supported this view and had said in its submission to the Supreme Court that the SLP was misconceived while the use 2G and 4G equipment together was mandated only in May 2018, much later than the awarding of the contract.

These issues have been left unresolved for some time now, and can be expected to be resolved in the near future. The Northeast project was approved in 2014, but it has still not seen the light of day as the SLP and bureaucratic delays have stalled it.

There are also other projects in the pipeline, where some actions are now envisaged after much delay.

The DoT note also stated that part of the immediate agenda are approval of the Digital Communication Commission (DCC) for provision of mobile services in uncovered villages and national highways of Meghalaya and Leftwing Extremist (LWE) areas Phase II as per Cabinet approval and floating of request for proposal (RFP), and capacity augmentation in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. (IANS)

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