Telcos say 80% of their network restored in flood-hit Kashmir

Telecom companies today said they have restored 80 per cent of their network in the flood-hit Kashmir valley.

Aircel, the biggest telecom operator in the state with over 22 lakh mobile customers, said 80 per cent of its network has been restored, a company spokesperson said.

State-owned BSNL said most of its network has been restored and is now working to provide connectivity in areas where there is no coverage.

"Most of our network has been restored. We are now trying to connect to connect Kulgam and improve coverage in Srinagar main city area by tomorrow," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director AN Rai told PTI.

He said that BSNL exchange in Srinagar still has about 5 feet water around it and services will be completely restored after water recedes.

BSNL has subscriber base of over 12.5 lakh in the state. Vodafone said more than 50 per cent of its network has been restored in Kashmir.

"Challenges such as the non-access to sites because of flooding are being dealt with by our team members... The equipment which got submerged under water had to be replaced," a Vodafone spokesperson said.

Vodafone is third largest mobile operator in the state with subscriber base of over 8 lakh.
Reliance Communications spokesperson said that through its roaming arrangements with other operators, a majority of company's subscribers are now able to access services across the state

"RCom BTS' (mobile tower)  in most critically-hit areas are now up and running in the Kashmir Valley, including in the worst-hit South Kashmir area. RCom's own network is now operational at nearly 140 sites in the Valley," RCom spokesperson said.

In a statement, mobile tower company GTL Infrastructure said that its  450 mobile tower have been affected in Jammu and Kashmir due to incessant rains and heavy floods.
"Jammu and Kashmir accounts for approximately 2.9 per cent of combined tower portfolio of the company together with Chennai Network Infrastructure Limited (CNIL). Over 450 towers on a combined basis have been affected," GTL Infrastructure said.