Flying in or out of the newly opened Navi Mumbai International Airport(NMIA)? Do not be surprised if your phone struggles to connect to a network – whether it is Airtel, Jio, Vodafone, or any telecom company service that you are using inside the terminal. The disruption stems from an ongoing tussle between private telcos and the Adani-run airport over who gets to provide telecom services at the airport and at what rates.
In a letter to the telecom secretary on Tuesday, 30 December, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) intervention was crucial to ensure compliance with the statutory Right of Way (RoW) framework, preservation of competitive neutrality, and to prevent inconvenience to consumers and passengers using the airport facilities.
RoW refers to the rules and permissions that govern how telecom service providers can install, maintain and operate their infrastructure on both public and private property.
What telecom operators said in the letter
COAI said its member Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) – Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd – have alleged that Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), part of Adani Airports Holdings Ltd, has refused to allow them to roll out their own network infrastructure at the airport to provide seamless 4G and 5G connectivity within the airport premises.
Instead, they claim, NMIAL is demanding exorbitant charges from the companies for using a network already deployed by it, mint reported earlier.
What NMIA said
An NMIA spokesperson, however, said that it has not denied permission to TSPs and is discussing the matter with them.
Further, NMIA said that contrary to COAI’s allegations, RoW has never been denied to any TSP at the airport, and that it has regularly communicated and discussed with telecom firms and already offered the in-building solution (IBS) services at charges in line with existing industry standards, to which the TSPs are yet to revert.
Several travelers at the Navi Mumbai airport also took to social media platform
NMAI – inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 October – commenced operations on Christmas Day – 25 December, with the arrival of its first commercial flight.
