Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal asks subscribers where to put up new towers | HT Tech

Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal asks subscribers where to put up new towers

In a mail, which was sent out to all Airtel subscribers, Vittal asked users to partner with the company to decide where the next towers should be put up to plug call drops.

By: HT CORRESPONDENT
| Updated on: Jun 18 2016, 12:43 IST
image caption
In a mail, which was sent out to all Airtel subscribers, Vittal asked users to partner with the company to decide where the next towers should be put up to plug call drops. (Airtel)
image caption
In a mail, which was sent out to all Airtel subscribers, Vittal asked users to partner with the company to decide where the next towers should be put up to plug call drops. (Airtel)

Either Airtel is really worried about its subscribers or this is just a marketing gimmick under the banner of the company's new open network. Whatever it may be, the company's CEO Gopal Vittal seems to be asking people to tell the company where its next towers would be placed.

In a mail, which was sent out to all Airtel subscribers, Vittal asked users to partner with the company to decide where the next towers should be put up to plug call drops. "At some locations we need to install new towers. In some others, towers have been forcibly shut down. We want to overcome this challenge and we want you to be a part of the solution," Vittal's mail said.

Read more: Bharti Airtel, Singtel join hands to provide data network coverage

"A number of judgements delivered by the High Courts in Gujarat, Kerala, Allahabad, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh have ruled that there is no conclusive evidence to prove that EMF radiation emitted from mobile towers has adverse effects on health. Thus, they cannot potentially harm humans," Trai advisor (B&CS) Agneshwar Sen has said.

Read more: Is mobile phone tower radiation a health hazard?

The mail also says that Airtel doesn't want to keep secrets and will show where the current towers are. It also says it will share with subscribers which ones it plans to upgrade.

Airtel's open network is a continuation to Airtel's Project Leap program which started in 2015. Under the open network, users can access information about tower maps, weak spots, strong signal zones and high- speed internet.

Read more: Radiation ghosts decoded: Why you should not worry

Will the ground reality change?

An Airtel spokesperson also said that nothing will change on the ground - just that it helps users to know what the condition of the network is and any issue can be reported to Airtel.

But can't users call the customer care of Airtel if there is a connectivity issue? The user can, and an Airtel executive pays a visit. That doesn't change - even after opening the network, the same executive will visit you.

To be sure, Airtel is not the only company which has spent a bomb on infrastructure.

Read more: Airtel's rivals question open network ad blitz

Vodafone India, as a part of Project Spring, has spent 18,000 crore ($3 billion) on upgrading network, last year.

However, the network condition in India remains a big problem. In Bhopal, for example, every other operator except Airtel and Vodafone failed to meet the government's call drop norm. That's because in India networks operate at over 95% utilisation (leading to congestion), while the global average is 70-80%.

Obviously Airtel wants to show that it is caught between a rock and a hard place. While the government is cracking down on telecom companies to cut call drops, it has no place to setup new towers to plug call drops. Some of its towers have been forcibly shut down keeping in mind radiation levels which might have long standing effects on health. Essentially, this is a way to make subscribers aware of the situation and get them to sympathise with the company.

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First Published Date: 18 Jun, 11:16 IST
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