The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans to request a minimum of two operators to roll out mobile networks in nine Maoist-impacted states by early 2012.
It has also decided not to reserve any slot for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), after the incumbent declined to participate in the project without 100 per cent compensation from the centre.
DoT?s decision to ask multiple operators to rollout networks in these areas comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs had decided to broaden the scope of strategic mobile communications in Maoist zones.
The Ministry of Home Affairs now wants operators to initially provide mobile coverage in a minimum of 60 districts across nine states that have been classified as left wing extremist areas.
It is believed that these areas include 15 districts in Orissa, 14 in Jharkhand, 10 in Chhattisgarh, eight in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Bihar, two each in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
