Protests in Kashmir have severely affected telecom operators

Suspension of mobile Internet and prepaid services due to the 90-day shutdown in Kashmir following the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahidin (HM) militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani has caused an estimated loss of over `100 crore to the telecom sector. The police had suspended mobile phone services of all operators except for BSNL's post paid customers. Now, the Indian Army offensive targeting terrorist hideouts in PoK through surgical strikes will further strain their operations.

It is, however, not the first time that telecom operators had to suspend their services. It happened a year ago, after suspected militants killed two civilians. The sorry state of telcos is also due to the delays in government clearances for tower installations in border areas and heavy taxes on import of equipment.

Besides, all businesses in Kashmir have largely remained shut causing daily losses of over `100 core. Locals have questioned the utility of the ban on cell phone services as it has affected tourism. The police have, however, contended that the ban restricts the use of social networking sites, where rumours of civilian killings can stoke passions. According to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), 20-25 per cent of the estimated loss of `100-crore by the telecom industry in the past three months, is due to closure of data services.

On 31 August, the COAI wrote to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to address the challenges faced by telecom players in Kashmir Valley. "As per the orders passed by the J&K government and in view of security concerns our member mobile operators had to shut down mobile voice and data services in the region from July 10. Besides, the ongoing curfew imposed in several districts of J&K also impacted the associated telecom resources, including the overall telecom service quality. All these created a challenging situation for operators to meet various network-related qualities of standard benchmarks for the quarter starting July 2016. We hope that a better ecosystem can be created to keep the operations uninterrupted.''

Says Rajan S. Mathewsm Director General, COAI: We are facing a key challenge while working in Jammu & Kashmir, especially the Kashmir Valley. We are bearing the brunt of a continued disruption of law and order situation, which has lead to disruption of services in many areas. The clamp down on telecommunication services have happened in the past in other states also. But services were restored as soon as the curbs were lifted."

July, in fact, witnessed a fall of 2.15 per cent in subscriber growth, even as there was a net gain of 165,000 customers in the state. Tele-density of Jammu and Kashmir is comparatively lower at 80 per cent, against 236 per cent in Delhi. Subscriber addition has also remained low in the state and is between 0.6 per cent and 2 per cent per month.

According to telecom operators, it takes anywhere between a few months and two years to install towers near the borders due to delays in official clearances. The government does not allow towers to be set up within 500 metres from the border. Tower installations outside the prohibited area have also become tough as clearances have to be procured from different authorities, including the state government and the Army. Government rules also mandate telecom operators to get a clearance from the police if more than two SIM cards are issued to an individual, and that often means waiting for up to 10 days. In fact, the telcos have written to that government that the "restrictions are not achieving any benefit and is causing unnecessary inconvenience and hardship to the general public who are unable to obtain additional connections". They have suggested that the operators must be allowed to activate the new numbers after due verification without waiting for the 10-day period, and if any concern is raised by the police the operators can deactivate the number.

Besides, prepaid SIMs of other states do not work in Jammu and Kashmir - a no-roaming zone for thousands of tourists. The difficulties faced by telecom operators have been taken up with both the state government and TRAI.  "Other than delayed permissions for setting up towers there are other challenges which we have requested the Chief Minister of J&K to resolve to ensure provisions of better services to customers in the state," says Mathews.

"The operators are facing inconvenience in expanding communication network. Initially pre-paid roaming was restricted both in J&K and the Northeastern states, but the restriction was removed in the Northeast in 2011. However, restricted access to roaming services continues in J&K. Given the stringent subscriber verification norms being followed in J&K and other states since 2010, we have proposed that the restriction on roaming services for pre-paid customers should be reviewed. We have also asked the department of telecommunication (DOT) to issue suitable instructions to allow Aadhaar as a valid proof of identity and proof of address in J&K even for telecom services," adds Mathews.

Says Deputy Inspector General of North Kashmir, Uttam Chand: "Besides the internal verification which is carried out by cell phones operators, the monitoring is done by police to ensure that the SIM cards don't fall in hands of the militants." The strict regulations are followed as many militants had managed to get SIM cards earlier. In May last year militants attacked the people on whose premises towers were installed as they suspected that some repeaters devices that amplify the signal of their wireless network were removed, says Harmeet Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Sopore.

Telecom operators also allege that the hostile terrain only adds to increased logistics cost and higher investments, apart from the frequent power cuts that increase the cost of running the services. In some of areas, officials said, there is a power breakdown for 7-8 hours and the use of generators only increases the usage burden on customers. "During the winter months, scheduled cuts can go up to 10 hours and due to the damage to the power transmission infrastructure the costs shoot up," says a senior official of the state-run BSNL. Entry tax on the import of towers and the other equipment is higher by 5-17 per cent in the state. Further the telecom operators often face issues with laying of optical fibre cables because of delays in clearances.

They also allege that the state has selectively used the bans and private operators are at the receiving end. Following the recent unrest, authorities immediately issued orders to shut down cell phone services, but both post-paid and landline services of BSNL were not hit. Likewise a day before Eid, on September 12, the Inspector General of Police for Kashmir range, had issued orders asking cell phone operators to suspend services, but BSNL post-paid services remained functional. This resulted in an increase in demand for the BSNL SIM cards and landline facility, despite poor service record of the telecom provider.

However private operators said the selective ban was only giving a competitive advantage to the state-run teloc. "What is the point banning other services of private operators while keeping the BSNL functional?" quips an official of a private service provider. Officials, however, reasoned that BSNL was not barred because most officials, including that from the police use its services.

Chief General Manager, BSNL, J&K Circle, H.K. Verma, said that BSNL like other telecom operators also faced losses. "Pre-paid services of the company remained suspended, while data services for both landlines and cell phone networks were also hit," he said.

(The writer is a freelance journalist based in Srinagar.)