Tender for mobile network on Aqua Line draws a blank; MMRCL to seek advice from central, state govts

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) had floated the tender for providing shared mobile coverage on the route on March 20 and the last date for submitting bids was April 20

Mumbai: Commuters on the 33.5-kilometre Metro 3 corridor, also known as the Aqua Line, will continue to grapple with mobile and internet blackout in the coming weeks as no company has submitted bids for providing shared mobile cellular coverage on the fully underground route, officials familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times.

From ticketing to exiting the station, the 33.5 km journey takes about 55 minutes, and commuters on this route lack cellular network access (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) had floated the tender for providing shared mobile coverage on the route on March 20 and the last date for submitting bids was April 20.

“Though a few companies raised queries during the pre-bid meeting, which we addressed, none of them submitted bids within the deadline,” an MMRCL official said, requesting anonymity.

The metro rail authority will now approach the central and the state governments, seeking their advice on if they should float a fresh tender or explore other solutions, the official said.

The MMRCL is a joint venture between the state government and the central government.

As reported by HT earlier, in March 2024, the MMRCL had roped in Advanced Communications and Electronics Systems (Aces) India Private Limited – a wholly owned subsidiary of Aces Saudi Arabia – to provide in-building solutions (IBS) for mobile and internet connectivity on the Aqua Line. But in March this year, the metro rail authority terminated the contract with Aces India as it could not meet the key requirement of on-boarding at least three telecom service providers.

Subsequently, on March 23, three telecom service providers – Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL), Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea – wrote to the MMRCL managing director Ashwini Bhide, requesting that the shared cellular infrastructure installed by Aces be handed over to RJIL. The companies also claimed that the charges levied for right of way (ROW) in the fresh tender floated by the MMRCL were exorbitant.

“No telecom service provider will provide any comfort letter to any IBS provider, as MMRCL is once again attempting to levy exorbitant ROW charges under the guise of space charges through their fresh tender. Such charges are not aligned with the principle of just compensation and may adversely impact the timely deployment of telecom infrastructure,” the letter to MMRCL said.

In response, the MMRCL informed the companies that it could permit only one IBS provider which would facilitate mobile connectivity for all operators along the 33.5-km route. Since India had multiple telecom service providers and IBS companies, the MMRCL could not favour RJIL or any other single provider, the metro authority explained. Telecom companies should therefore participate in the bidding process if they were willing to take up the contract, the MMRCL had said.