Poor network connectivity to be a thing of past

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 12

The twin problems of poor network connectivity and call dropping encountered by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would be solved to a great extent with the installation of 300 base transceiver stations (BTS) in the state, said SK Gupta, Chief General Manager, BSNL, Himachal Pradesh.

“Call drop is a universal phenomenon, but installation of 300 more BTS (equipment that facilitates wireless communication) would help in providing seamless coverage and better services,” he said, maintaining BSNL had surpassed Reliance to occupy second place after Airtel in the CDMA and GSM segment.

He said Airtel had an advantage as it got the licence in 1998, while BSNL forayed into mobile services in 2001. “BSNL has installed about 1,300 BTS in the state. However, it is half the number installed by Airtel,” he said.

When pointed out that BSNL services in rural areas were pathetic and a large number of landline subscribers in the rural areas had shifted to cell phones, Gupta said they had adopted the “same day fault clearance” and claimed that Himachal had the minimum repeat fault in the country.

Network problem and call dropping have become synonymous with BSNL and Shimla residents are a harassed lot. “Fed up with BSNL network, I had to take an alternative Airtel connection,” said Dinesh, a resident of Bemloe. “Every time I get a call on my BSNL number, I have to move out of my house and office to talk. The signal is weak,” says another resident.

“There are more than 4,000 students in Himachal Pradesh University and almost all of them are using BSNL numbers. But its services are very so poor. We have urged the General Manager of BSNL to install a tower in the university for better connectivity,” says Gaurav Attri, HPU campus president, ABVP.