'Telecom Black Spots' Continue to Plague Assam’s National Highways

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: In the digital age when mobile phone networks are of immense importance, national highways in the country still have some 'telecom black spots'. Strangely enough, the Department of Telecommunications has not conducted a specific study to identify which stretches of national highways contain these 'telecom black spots'.

Mobile phone networks are too important to be without on national highways these days as vehicles ply on them 24x7, and some people work in their cars while travelling. The necessity in any emergency situation is the mobile phone, and in such cases, telecom black spots on NHs may cost travellers dearly.

According to information from the Department of Communications (DoT), no specific study for identifying mobile coverage gaps along national highways across the country has been done by the department. However, in a specific case, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has reported a few cases of mobile coverage gaps in the country. Upon which the department's field units identified 135 blackout locations along national highways.

Among the 135 blackout NH stretches, three are in Assam and four in Meghalaya. However, Assam has more such blackout stretches, and frequent travellers know where such spots are. Some NH travellers do not get a mobile network at a few NH stretches while travelling between Mangaldai and Guwahati. Travellers also do get a mobile network at an NH stretch at Bongara near the LGBI Airport. People also do not get a mobile network at a few NH locations after crossing Jakhalabandha on the way to the Kaziranga National Park.

Of late, identifying critical mobile network connectivity issues across several stretches of NHs, the NHAI has sought the intervention of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to issue appropriate directions to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to address the non-availability of mobile network connectivity on several stretches of national highways, particularly in greenfield and remote sections. Emphasizing the public safety implications and the strategic significance of the national highway network, NHAI has called for an expeditious and coordinated approach to improve mobile network connectivity on the national highway corridors across the country.

As part of a comprehensive assessment undertaken by NHAI, 424 locations covering about 1,750 km across the national highway network have been identified as critically affected due to non-availability of mobile network connectivity.

It is high time the DoT addressed the issue.

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