Port Blair, Jul 03: Telecommunication services are playing an extremely important role in our economy and more so during pandemics/ disaster situations. During the Covid-19 pandemic, telecom services played a major role in maintaining not only the continuity and the functioning of administrative machinery but also economic and industrial activities apart from facilitating ‘work from home’, education, news, entertainment, social networking, availing online services of A&N Administration such as state government portal, health, education, electricity, employment and keeping the friends and families connected.
The need for telecom services has gone up in an unprecedented manner in recent times. There is an immediate need for faster expansion of telecom infrastructure in the A&N Islands. This calls for speedy deployment of towers to expand the coverage. DOT has planned to provide 4G mobile coverage by installing 128 towers for covering 85 uncovered villages and along NH-04 in A&N islands. However, due to misconceptions and misinformation, the public at some locations is apprehensive whenever a tower is proposed in the vicinity of a residence, etc.
Department of Telecom (DoT) has created a mechanism to ensure that radiation limits from telecom towers are maintained by all telecom service providers (TSPs) within limits. All TSPs have to give periodic self-certificates to this effect and DoT field offices have been mandated to audit 10% of BTS every year.
During this week, the DOT A&N team surveyed the BTS network working in Fire Station Aberdeen Bazar, Military Station Brichgunj and Shore Point in the Port Blair area and measured the radiation level of towers working of all telecom service providers (TSPs) therein and radiation level found well within permissible limits.
It is pertinent to note that so far, DoT A&N has tested 385 out of 786 BTS till 30th June 2022 in Andaman and Nicobar UT and found radiation levels for all tested towers are well within the permissible radiation level.
Apart from this, DoT has created a portal www.tarangsanchar.gov.in wherein there is a provision for the General Public to see the radiation level of towers in their vicinity by entering their area postal PIN code. Considering the mobile expansion plan for the introduction of 5G, the number of towers is to be increased from 333 to 520 within the next 2 years.
Therefore, DoT A&N Port Blair hereby requests cooperation among every stakeholder including the general public to shed all misconceptions about mobile tower radiation and come forward to extend all possible support for a faster rollout of telecom infrastructure to meet the unprecedented demand for telecom services and improve quality of telecom service in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.