BSNL is said to have not cleared its dues to infrastructure providers due to which the subscribers of the telco might face network issues. Tower & Infrastructure Providers Association (Taipa), which represents a group of infrastructure providers, says the government-owned has not cleared Rs 1,500 crore worth of dues. Taipa has reached out to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to immediately take action as BSNL subscribers might face service disruption. Right now, a lot of telecom subscribers are staying at their homes due to which the data traffic has also surged on the networks of telcos. This is not the first time we are seeing Taipa sending a payment due notification to BSNL, but the situation is worse this time around due to Coronavirus outbreak.
BSNL Yet to Clear Rs 1,500 Crore Payment to Taipa
"Tower & Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA) has urged the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for urgent intervention and support in clearing the dues of their infrastructure provider members for maintaining round the clock continuity of telecom operations at BSNL tower sites," the body in a statement said, as reported by ET Telecom.
For the unaware, Taipa is based out of Delhi and it represents firms such as Bharti Infratel, Indus Towers, American Tower Corporation (ATC), GTL Infrastructure, Applied Solar Technologies and TowerVision.
Because of non-clearance of payments, Taipa stated that it would be tough for the infrastructure providers to provide smooth services. This will ultimately result in the service disruption of telecom operators. Taipa also stated that the payments would be used in making rental payments of tower sites as well as power bills.
Taipa also reached out to BSNL stating that the telco has to clear dues so that it can ensure smooth operations. "The situation has become highly critical now with total outstanding dues from BSNL amounting to Rs 1500 crore which has been pending for long," TR Dua, Director-General, Taipa said.
BSNL is facing severe financial crunch but the telco should provide proper services to the subscribers during this lockdown period in India.
