Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, RK Mathur convened a meeting to review telecommunications-related issues and concerns in Ladakh at Ladakh Bhawan in New Delhi on March 11.

Administrator USOF, Department of Telecommunications; Secretary, IT Department, Saugat Biswas; Chairman & Managing Director, BSNL; Chairman & Managing Director, BBNL; Chairman & Managing Director, PGCIL; CGM (Planning & Coordination), BBNL; General Manager, BSNL Ladakh; Managing Director & CEO, Bharti Airtel; Managing Director, Reliance Jio; Director (North), Reliance Jio; CEO, Vindhya Telelinks Ltd (VTL); President, Vindhya Telelinks Ltd, attended the meeting.

LG Mathur reviewed the progress on the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) scheme for connecting all the 193 Gram panchayats through fibre as Gram panchayats are currently on VSAT-based systems. He also discussed the issue of the low bandwidth of VSATs installed by the BharatNet project that is impacting the public and students from making the most of this facility and the need for its quick redressal.

Mathur stressed OFC-based connectivity under BharatNet project and discussed the way forward with BSNL, BBNL and USOF in this regard.

Deputy Director-General, Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) shared that Ladakh may be considered for connecting the villages based on PPP (public-private partnership) model and work may be allotted in this fiscal year.

Jio informed that all their cell phone towers on VSATs are being upgraded to OFC-based connectivity thereby upgrading them to the 4G platform.

LG Mathur also highlighted the need for BSNL to build redundancy in their fibre network to improve the reliability of their connection. General Manager, BSNL, informed that the work of laying OFC on the Drass to Kargil route is currently in progress.

He also reviewed the proposal for a comprehensive telecom coverage plan for Ladakh, including offering assets available with telecommunication service providers (TSPs)/Infrastructure Providers (IP1s) such as VTL on lease to telecom service providers such as BSNL for expanding their telecommunication infrastructure.

LG Mathur took stock of the provision of providing mobile services to remote and difficult uncovered areas and also those areas along the National Highways and tourists routes in Ladakh under USOF. He appreciated the work carried out by Jio to connect the difficult areas in Ladakh under USOF, particularly at Demchok.

The status of installing VSATs at various DSPT sites and the status of VSATs installed under NOFN in Leh and Kargil was also reviewed.

LG Mathur discussed the upgradation of BSNL 2G mobile towers to 4G to improve internet connectivity in Ladakh. Deputy Director-General, USOF, said that the upgradation of 2G to 4G connectivity of BSNL, Jio and Airtel would be considered in the existing tender.

Representatives from Airtel shared updates on the installation of Airtel towers in border areas and the issues faced by them. LG Mathur assured to provide all necessary support for providing mobile towers and digital connectivity in all parts of Ladakh.