The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and the Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA) have objected to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) cancelling permissions to lay optic fibre cables (OFCs) in the city.
Rajan S. Mathews, COAI’s Director General, said the move disrupts critical digital infrastructure that would hurt businesses. “To serve customers with quality services and to build Digital India, the telecom industry needs an enabling environment from the BBMP and the State government. We urge them to allow resumption of impacted work immediately, and to have clear and stable Right of Way policy,” he said.
T.R. Dua, TAIPA’s Director General, called the move a retrograde step. “It came without prior information and bilateral discussions with the industry, and is completely unjustified. This,” he said, “would deprive citizens and especially businesses in the city of seamless network and internet connectivity, and impede roll out of new technologies like 5G, M2M/IoT, besides impacting various ambitious programs such as Digital India and Smart City.”
BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar ruled out going back on the decision. “There is no disruption in telecom or internet services. We cannot simply let service providers damage civic infrastructure. We will fine companies if they are found to be laying OFCs after the permissions were cancelled,” he said.
