As the government prepares for 5G rollout, telecom sector stakeholders warned the public on Monday against fraud related to the placement of mobile towers on their homes.
According to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and the Digital Infrastructure Providers’ Association (DIPA), people should be cautious of certain companies, agencies, or individuals who approach them fraudulently and ask them to deposit money in their personal or company accounts in the name of government tax for leasing their premises for mobile tower installation.
According to them, the same individuals are giving fraudulent “No Objection Certificates” from the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology for tower installation.
Telecommunications service providers (TSPs) or infrastructure providers (ISPs) install mobile towers (IPs).
Telecom infrastructure providers such as install mobile towers,Tower Vision, Indus Towers, American Tower Corporation, Summit Digital Infrastructure, Ascend Telecom
“IPs are taking several steps to caution the public about the frauds and have devised various modes to collect the information about potential locations through various channels such as toll-free number, website, email etc,” said T.R. Dua, DG, DIPA.
The industry bodies requested people to verify authenticity by visiting the websites of TSPs or IPs before accepting any offers for tower installation.
“Mobile towers are quintessential to ensure uninterrupted connectivity, support various critical services and maintain communication across the states. The public suffers gravely owing to the fraud related to mobile towers,” said Lt Gen Dr S.P. Kochhar, DG, COAI.
This creates a trust gap and a sense of unease among team members working on the ground to construct a strong communication network.
“The telecom industry remains committed to providing the best quality of services to its customers. Hence, we have collaborated with DIPA to build theArequired robust infrastructure,” Kochhar added.
According to sources, over 6.8 lakh mobile towers have been constructed across the country, with over 15 lakh towers expected to be installed by FY24 as the country prepares for 5G.