Cyclone FANI, which hit the shores of India through Orissa, wreaked havoc in the country and caused fatal losses in the states it touched. The cyclone took a turn towards West Bengal the next day and continued to claim damages well ahead in the week. Although now the cyclone has calmed down after entering further into the continent, the authorities are still staying ahead with the task of disaster management to streamline basic services like network, electricity and more in the region. Previously, we had reported about Reliance Jio and Airtel who had set up war camps. But, the disaster has also caused losses to companies as many networks have gone bust after the calamity, meaning a hit for DTH operators.
Dish TV and D2h Providing Free Service for Outdoor Units and Set-top Boxes
The Direct to Home provider, Dish TV India is setting up camps in Orissa to restore DTH connectivity which was massively affected after the cyclone hit the shores. In these free service camps, Dish TV and D2h technicians will repair and restore the damaged set-top boxes and other devices like the outdoor unit dish free of cost. The service provider has set up numerous such service camps across all of Orissa where it will be providing the servicing without any cost to the subscribers. It is worth noting that the cyclone has uprooted a lot of trees in the region, even claimed lives and caused massive loss to public property and as such there are bound to be subscribers who have faced broken outdoor units and set-top boxes. Dish TV’s new effort in this time seem to be focused on the consumers solely.
On this new initiative, Dish TV India Limited Business Head – India Gurpreet Singh said, “We are saddened to witness the intensity of the Cyclone FANI affecting many areas of Odisha. Post the calamity, the most critical and difficult phase is to restore life back to normalcy. Our service camps are offering installation, repair, and restoration of the damaged set-top-box and outdoor units to resume DTH connectivity in the affected areas.”
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel Also Working in Cyclone Affected Areas
Similarly, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are countering downtime in the affected areas, and the staff of the telcos is working to ensure that the consumers do not face disruption in services and are connected to their loved ones. Reliance Jio has said that its towers would remain functional because of multiway redundancy methodology and it had also stacked its captive power sources with diesel or fuel for any unseen circumstances. The telco had also sent out warning messages to many subscribers living in the concerned areas.
Bharti Airtel has also set up war rooms to manage the losses caused by calamity, and these war rooms will be coordinating with Government Authorities such as NDMA. The telco has also deployed a workforce to help the citizens and has made SMS free for five days in the region.
