During the first meeting of the newly-constituted Telecom Advisory Committee of BSNL in Mysuru, Pratap Simha, Mysuru MP, on Monday, June 19, told the officials to increase the number of mobile towers in Kodagu to improve services and the reach of the network.
With the private mobile service providers yet to expand their services in the remote terrains in the hill district, it becomes important for BSNL to improve the connectivity to those uncovered areas by increasing the number of towers, he said, while presiding over the meeting at RTTC.
“I am going to Madikeri tomorrow and I will talk to the Deputy Commissioner on providing the government land for establishing the towers. The BSNL local officials can approach me at the DC office tomorrow for a discussion with the DC on the issue,” he said.
Besides Kodagu, H.D. Kote in Mysuru and some remote parts of Chamarajnagar also lack network connectivity and these areas too are in need of more mobile towers, the MP said.
The officials in charge of Kodagu business area, said the district has 256 mobile towers and plans are afoot to increase the number by another 65. “We have identified the government land where the towers can be established. If we get the land immediately, we are ready to establish the towers in a quick time.”
To this, the MP told the officials to draft a letter with the list of towers and bring it to Madikeri tomorrow so that the land issue can be addressed. “I’ll get it done as it is an important matter. The remote areas can get the network connectivity benefitting the people if the towers are installed.”
When an official talked about the opposition from the forest department for building a tower near the forest area, the MP remarked, “The Forest Department is here to oppose and stop the works. They have no other work to do and therefore opposing your works.”
The MP said the present government in the State has discontinued services offered under the BharatNet Network (BBNL), an internet service through optical fibre. Under this, 272 FTTH connections were provided to the institutions of the government of Karnataka, including government higher primary schools, high schools and PHCs and fair price shops.
The member secretary of the committee and the principal general manager, Mysuru, Mr. Rajkumar briefed the MP about the operations and the future development activities of the three operational areas of BSNL – Mysuru and Chamarajanagar, Kodagu and Mandya.
Helpless Situation
At the meeting, the MP said he does not blame the officials for the BSNL lagging behind in competition with the private players. “I know your are in a helpless situation. The system has become lethargic. Just work out what more you can offer to customers so that they migrate to BSNL network. Comparative pricing is crucial in drawing customers.”
