BBMP fibre cut drive paradoxical with RoW rules: TAIPA

BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) fibre cut drive is paradoxical with the provisions of NDCP 2018 and court judgements emphasising on no-coercive actions without any prior notice and ensuring physical safety & security of telecom infrastructure, an industry group on Tuesday said.

Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA) stated that there is no comprehensive policy in Bengaluru that is aligned with Right of Way rules, 2016 while the industry has been chasing the authority for the same.

The suo-motto surprise cutting of fibre without any prior intimation to telecom industry has adversely impacted the overall internet connectivity in the city. BBMP will be held responsible in case of any untoward incident happening in the ICT city of Bangalore, TAIPA warned.

“It is distressing to see that BBMP is cutting off the nose to spite the face by damaging the telecom infrastructure in its own vicinity. The overall action taken by the corporation seems to be aimed upon revenue maximisations only,” Tilak Raj Dua, director general, TAIPA.

The Right of Way rules, 2016 have clear guidelines for the removal and alteration of telecom infrastructure that are not being followed by the authority, added Dua.

Currently, the Karnataka states have around 34,700 mobile towers mounted with 1,47,200 BTSs serving around 65 million subscribers. In the near future, Karnataka state needs to double the number of towers and BTS count, TAIPA suggested.