Saturday was nothing less than a nightmare for cell phone users in Noida as a sealing drive against illegal mobile phone towers crippled the satellite town’s communication network.
The problem will spill over to Sunday, too.
The action has been taken against service providers who have installed towers without requisite permission. Till Saturday evening, Noida Authority had sealed close to 190 towers, out of the total 400.
A mobile phone tower is an important component of the cellular infrastructure that enables seamless communication via cell phones.
The timing of sealing drive will cause more inconvenience to mobile phone users. With Sunday being a holiday, a resolution between the authority and service providers is unlikely before Monday.
Noida has a population of around 7 lakh out of which over 4 lakh are cell phone users.
“They forced us to take action. We received permission applications for 188 towers, that too without proper annexure and fee. Reminders were sent, but there was no response. We have also disconnected their power supply,” said Sandeep Chandra, Noida Authority’s senior project engineer .
Service providers claimed they were not given any prior notice.
{{/usCountry}}Service providers claimed they were not given any prior notice.
{{/usCountry}}“The action is arbitrary and uncalled for. We did not get any prior notice and now the users are going to suffer,” said T.R. Dua, officiating director general of Cellular Operators Association of India.
The Authority will de-seal towers only if the service providers give an affidavit within ten days and complete all formalities.