COAI seeks Centre’s intervention over telecom facilities at Navi Mumbai airport

LT Gen Dr SP Kochhar director general of Cellular Operators Association of India COAI and a former signal officerinchief of the Indian Army has written a letter to Dr Neeraj Mittal chairman Digital Communication Commission and secretary department of telecommunications requesting intervention from the ministry regarding telecom arrangements at the Navi Mumbai International Airport NMIAOn December 26 midday reported about mobile network issues faced by passengers and visitors at the NMIA Referring to the article Lt Gen Kochhar wrote to the ministry that as the operator Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd NMIA is a public entity according to the provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 2023 and the Telecommunications Right of Way RoW Rules 2024 it is statutorily obligated to provide RoW permissions in a nondiscriminatory and timebound mannerIn his letter Lt Gen Kochhar wrote that members of COAI mdash Bharti Airtel Ltd Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd mdash had approached the NMIAL seeking permission to set up their telecom networks at the airport ldquoHowever contrary to the statutory framework under the Telecommunications Act 2023 and the RoW Rules 2024 NMIAL has declined to grant the necessary permissions Instead NMIAL has directed telecom service providers TSPs to mandatorily utilise a network deployed by it at exorbitant and commercially untenable chargesrdquo the letter readThe exorbitant and commercially untenable charges the letter mentions are said to be approximately Rs 92 lakh per month from each TSP which adds up to about Rs 4416 crore per annum from the TSP The letter further reads ldquoThese charges are grossly disproportionate and significantly exceed the total capital expenditure ordinarily required for deployment of an independent IBS network InBuilding Solutions ie infrastructure that enhances cellular signalsrdquoReferring to the midday report Lt Gen Kochhar pointed out that the statement made on notice boards by the NMIAL on the first day of operations is misleading and adversely affects the reputation of the licensed network providers while the airport operators are yet to give permission for deployment of telecom infrastructureNMIALrsquos statementNMIAL said in a statement that it had consciously decided to install stateoftheart IBS infrastructure for the mobile network as a neutral host based on ldquothe learnings that certain important areas such as baggage belt utility buildings and ATC get neglected by TSPs in favour of passengerheavy areas thereby leading to passenger inconvenience and overall airport inefficiencyrdquoStating that the airport is a highly sensitive zone NMIAL has said that it is best that they manage the frequent servicing maintenance and upkeep of the networks with relevant security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and other security agencies ldquoThe turnaround time for any third party to address any concerns with the network would be substantially more leading to delays and passenger inconveniencerdquo the statement readNMIAL further said that the RoW had not been denied to any TSPs as the COAI alleges and that it had regularly communicated and discussed with the TSPs by offering the IBS services at charges in line with the existing industry standards to which the TSPs are apparently yet to respondIt further said ldquoIt is also important to mention that IBS has been procured and installed after multiple discussions with individual TSPs In fact the governmentowned TSP BSNL is already in the advanced phase of testing for the use of IBS at the airportrdquoAddressing the current issue of cellular network not being available NMIAL said that owing to the delay by other TSPs NMIA was providing free highspeed WiFi services to provide connectivity to its passengers ldquoWe are rigorously following up with TSPs to conclude the discussions We welcome individual TSPs to discuss and mutually agree on rates However we will not give in to any cartelisation in this regardrdquo the statement readLegislation citedTelecommunications Act 2023 It replaces old telecom laws in India and governs networks services and spectrum focusing on development security and innovation introducing concepts like authorisation instead of licencesRequests madegtgt Direct NMIAL to grant RoW permissions to licensed TSPs enabling them to deploy independent 4G5G and IBS infra at the airport premisesgtgt Examine and take appropriate action against NMIAL as a ULVNO licensee for conferring upon itself exclusive RoW for building IBS violating the terms and conditions of its authorisationlicencegtgt Direct NMIAL to refrain from making false allegations against licensed TSPs regarding lack of network coverage at airport when it is NMIAL that has not granted permissions