The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly set up a round-the-clock control room in order to manage and restore the disruption in communication network in view of the impending super cyclonic storm Amphan.
As per the telecom secretary Anshu Prakash, people will be able to connect with any network available in their area without paying any extra charge as the government has allowed roaming arrangements among telecom operators in the affected areas. Further, arrangements have been made to send SMS alerts to people in local languages.
Broadband connections of hospitals and district authorities will be repaired on priority basis, Prakash said. Moreover, telecom operators have been asked to keep sufficient generator sets with diesel in each district to provide power supply to mobile towers when electricity is disrupted. As per the telecom secretory, special focus will be on base station controllers (BSC) and mobile switching centres. Additionally, telecom operators have been asked to keep spare parts and optical fibre in place for repairing the damages.
Meanwhile, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that some of the mobile towers that have switched to solar energy may get impacted but arrangements have been made to restore any damage in a short time.
Recently, Amphan developed into a super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal and is expected to make landfall on the West Bengal coast. Amphan is expected to have a devastating wind speed of 155 km-180 km per hour that can damage telecom towers and uproot electricity poles.
