Telecom operations in India are facing many major challenges. Due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, tower connectivity is being disrupted and the cost of imported equipment is increasing. Due to restrictions on the sale of diesel, there are problems in the refueling required for telecom towers. Power cuts are also a concern, increasing dependence on diesel generators. The supply chain of tower manufacturing has also been affected, which may delay network expansion.
According to telecom infrastructure providing companies and equipment manufacturing companies, there are disruptions in telecom tower connectivity in India due to the ongoing war in West Asia. Also, due to blockages in freight routes, the cost of transportation logistics and insurance for telecom equipment being imported into the country has increased. Let us also tell you what the experts of telecom industries have to say in this matter.
DIPA raised many questions
In its applications to the telecom department and state governments, the Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA)—which represents companies like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and BSNL—said that their field employees are being prevented from purchasing diesel in drums at petrol pumps. This is due to restrictions aimed at preventing fuel hoarding by the general public, but the industry has argued that telecom towers are categorized as ‘essential infrastructure’. Sale of diesel in containers has been banned in many districts of states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. According to DIPA, due to this ban, many fuel stations have stopped supplying diesel to telecom field teams, disrupting regular fuel filling operations. In Maharashtra, these restrictions have already started affecting the continuity of the network.
How is power cut becoming a problem?
Apart from this, there are power cuts of four to six hours daily in many states, due to which the dependence on diesel generators (DG) for power backup has increased. The industry body said telecom networks are highly dependent on uninterrupted power supply—especially in rural and remote areas, where grid power supply is often irregular. The organization further said that, to ensure round the clock and continuous availability of the telecom network, diesel is regularly required to run the DG sets installed at mobile tower sites. Additionally, due to restrictions imposed on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquefied Natural Gas, there are supply chain disruptions in the construction of telecom towers. DIPA said that the stoppage of LPG supply to galvanization units—which are vital for tower construction work—may delay the expansion of the network and the grounding of the infrastructure.
TEMA also enumerated problems
Due to this conflict, companies manufacturing telecom equipment have faced many obstacles on the logistics and economic front. The Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association (TEMA)—which represents companies such as Ericsson and Nokia—reported significant delays in deliveries to telecom operators who install network equipment. A TEMA spokesperson said that the consignment of equipment components which earlier used to arrive in a week, is now taking up to a month to arrive. He further said that logistics (freight transportation) has become a big problem, as ships now have to take longer and changed routes, due to which the time taken to deliver goods has increased significantly. Commtel Networks, which provides telecom networks to the critical infrastructure sector, said it expected a freeze on new capital expenditure and quotation requests in the Middle East.