Beware of imposters demanding money for tower installation: TRAI

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has started a text messaging campaign to spread awareness among the general public against rampant telecom tower installation fraud.

It warned against fraudsters asking land or premise owners for money on the pretext of obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Trai for deployment of telecom infrastructure.

“Trai does not issue NOC for installation of mobile towers,” the regulator’s SMS read. Such fraudsters may be reported to the mobile service provider concerned.

The number of cases where people make telephonic queries or simply walk in with such requests has increased, Trai said. “Such calls (to obtain NOC) have become frequent and we receive dozens of phone calls and e-mail queries every day. People even make visits seeking a meeting with top officials,” a Trai official said on condition of anonymity.