The delay of PWD (roads) in giving an early nod to laying of optical fibre cables and the zigzag terrain in the state’s hilly border region that make laying of these cables difficult, are the other problems that hinder a wide BSNL network coverage on the borders.
Many border residents of Meghalaya continue to use Grameenphone of Bangladesh as the BSNL’s mobile connectivity is weak compared to the neighbouring country’s telecommunications service provider.
In the past, several Grameenphone SIMs were seized from the militants arrested in Meghalaya.
Besides Umkiang in Jaintia Hills, other border villages in the district where Bangladesh SIM cards are used include Hingaria, Lejri, Huroi, Borkhat, Kharkhana, Nongkhen and Nongthalang.
There are also several border villages in Khasi hills and Garo hills where Grameenphone SIMs are available.
According to a top BSNL official, though Delhi had directed to restrict the signals crossing the zero line of the international border, efforts are being made by the BSNL to restrict signals till the zero line.
“We now have the equipment to limit the BSNL signals up to the zero line,” the general manager, telecom, district (GMTD), Meghalaya, G.V. Ramakrishna, told reporters.
The Centre maintains that the Northeast militants can avail the facility of BSNL network if the signals are available in Bangladesh beyond the zero line.
Bangladesh, however, has not imposed any restriction on sending signals to Grameenphone towers in India.
Ramakrishna said of 90 new mobile towers to be set up in Meghalaya, only eight would be installed in the state’s border areas.
According to sources, for the past two years, the BSNL has been awaiting permission from the PWD to lay optical fibre cables from the border area of Pynursla in East Khasi Hills to Dawki in Jaintia Hills. The telecom major has also been waiting for the department’s nod for the past year to carry out laying of fibre wires from Mawsynram to Balat in East Khasi Hills.
Ramakrishna said the difficult terrain in the border areas made it impossible to lay optical fibres in a time-bound manner. Compared to the private mobile companies that use radio signals in the towers installed in the border areas, the BSNL mostly depend on optical fibres. “Our hurdle is that we need plenty of optical fibre wires to lay in the border areas because of its terrain,” Ramakrishna said.