Visakhapatnam: 150 mobile towers to come up in tribal areas

VISAKHAPATNAM: Plans to provide better communication in tribal areas have started gathering momentum with government authorities now calling for tenders to set up as many as 150 mobile towers. The move, while geared towards providing better connectivity, also aims to aims to counter Maoist violence in tribal pockets.

The Visakhapatnam Agency area has a population of around five lakh across 11 mandals with most mandal headquarters connected via the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) network. In recent times, Reliance Jio has set up towers in the area with Airtel now also planning to follow suit according to local sources. The service provider is planning to set up one tower in each mandal headquarters by sharing towers with BSNL.