Emphasising the public safety implications and the strategic significance of the National Highway (NH) network, the Central road making agency has approached Department of Telecommunication (DoT) for to improve mobile network connectivity on the NH corridors across the country. As part of a comprehensive assessment undertaken by NHAI, 424 locations covering about 1,750 km across the National Highway network across the country have been identified as critically affected due to non-availability of the mobile network connectivity.
Besides DoT, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) too have been requested to issue directions to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for addressing non-availability of the mobile network on several stretches of NHs, Expressways particularly on greenfield and remote sections. “Detailed information on these locations has been compiled and formally shared with the Department of Telecommunications and TRAI for necessary action,” said a senior NHAI official.