Right of Way Not Denied For Telcos; Will Not Give in to Cartelisation on Rates

Adani Group-owned Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on Tuesday said it has not denied the right of way for any telecom service provider and welcomes individual discussions with operators on mobile network charges, but will not give in to cartelisation.

NMIA issued a strongly-worded statement in response to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) writing to the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) saying that it has denied the Right of Way (RoW) apart from various other complaints.

RoW defines the rules and rights with regard to the deployment and operation of telecom infrastructure by service providers on public and private property.

The In Building Solution (IBS) infrastructure for mobile network was procured and installed after multiple discussions with individual Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), and in fact, government-owned BSNL is already in the advanced phase of testing for the use of IBS at the airport, it said.

"Owing to the delay by other TSPS, NMIA is providing free, high-speed wi-fi services re-iterating its commitment to provide high-speed connectivity to all the passengers.

"We are rigorously following up with TSPs to conclude the discussions. We welcome individual TSPs to discuss and mutually agree on rates. However, we will not give in to any cartelization in this regard," NMIA said in the statement.

Further, NMIA said that contrary to the COAI allegations, Right of Way has never been denied to any TSP at the airport and that it has regularly communicated and discussed with TSPs and already offered the IBS services at charges in line with the existing industry standards, to which the TSPs are yet to revert.

According to NMIA, it had consciously decided to install state-of-the-art IBS infrastructure for mobile network as a neutral host and based on the learnings that certain important areas, such as baggage belt, utility buildings, and air traffic control, "get neglected by TSPs in favour of passenger-heavy areas, thereby leading to passenger inconvenience and overall airport inefficiency".

Since the airport is a highly sensitive zone, frequent servicing, maintenance, and upkeep of the network are required, NMIA said.

"This is best managed by the airport operator with the relevant security clearance from BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) and other security agencies. The turnaround time for any third party to address any concerns with the network will be substantially more, leading to delays and passenger inconvenience," the statement said.