Disputes between telecom operators and urban municipal authorities of the kind that recently disrupted phone services in Noida near Delhi, would soon become history as the telecom regulator is formulating a telecom tower policy.
The tower policy will cover issues related to the material and design of buildings. The state governments will follow these guidelines.
Sources in the department of telecommunications (DoT) said that the draft telecom policy envisages that towers will have to be earthquake resistant and their design, fabrication and use of material would conform to the standards set by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in that particular area.
The telecom companies will have to get the towers painted every year in areas with a highly corrosive atmosphere.
Under the rules, rooftop towers may be installed only on reinforced concrete cement (RCC) buildings. A company should get prestigious institutes like the IITs and Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) at Roorkee, to design towers on rooftops. The companies can also follow standards formulated by the telecom engineering centre (TEC).
The earth resistance of the tower would have to be maintained within the prescribed range and it would be checked periodically, at least once a year.
{{/usCountry}}The earth resistance of the tower would have to be maintained within the prescribed range and it would be checked periodically, at least once a year.
{{/usCountry}}The manufacturer’s identity, year of manufacture and maximum load that a tower can take would have to be displayed at the bottom of the tower.
Aviation lights would have to be installed at the top of the towers. Their specifications would have to conform to the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s guidelines.
DoT will check compliance of these provisions regularly and will take appropriate action against defaulters.