Despite having a strong subscriber base of more than 4 lakh connections (post-paid and prepaid) in the Jammu telecom circle, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), J&K telecom circle, has failed to live up to the expectations of its customers due to poor connectivity and internet services both in urban and rural areas.
The Jammu circle is comprised of three districts —Jammu, Kathua and Samba.
Sources said as many as 75 base transceiver station (BTS) towers were scheduled to set up in the winter capital, but due to devastating flash floods in the Kashmir valley in September 2014, all the towers were set up there.
“In order to bring improvement in the poor mobile phone and internet services, a decision was taken to set up 75 BTS towers in 2014 in the Jammu circle, but it did not happen. The flash floods in 2014 had caused damage to BTS towers in Kashmir and the same were set up there,” said a source.
“In the absence of adequate BTS towers, there have been a number of complaints from mobile network users regarding call dropping. Interestingly, most of the complaints are from the subscribers hailing from Jammu city and its outskirts,” he claimed.
The sources claimed that there are around 1,50,000 subscribers having BSNL post-paid connections, while the prepaid subscribers are 2,60,000. There are around 176 3G BTS towers in the Jammu circle, while the strength of 2G towers is 367. In all, there are 1,182 BTS towers being set up in the entire state by BSNL, which are very less as compared to number of towers being set up by private telecom operators. One of the leading private telecom companies in the state is setting more than 3,000 BTS towers in J&K.
“No doubt the private telecom operators are providing better services than BSNL, but their reach is limited and that is why despite having problem in connectivity we still prefer BSNL because of its longest reach even in remotest areas,” said Rajesh, a BSNL subscriber.
“Now a days, BSNL services are getting worst with every single day and the authorities are required to take decisive steps to overcome this problem, otherwise it would lose its subscribers’ confidence,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, Gautam Lal, General Manager, Telecom District (GMTD), said the services would soon be improved. “We are expected to get the required equipment, including BTS towers, in May to bring improvement in the connectivity,” said the GMTD.
When asked about the rise in call droppings, Gautam Lal said, “Most of the subscribers having smart phones are keeping them on 3G mode even during voice calls which often results in call drops. There is less possibility of the same if the subscribers keep smart phones on 2G mode for voice calls.”
BSNL subscribers complain of poor cell phone connectivity, net services
