The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has instructed the CEO of Reliance Jio, India's largest telecom operator, to look into the work that's happening in Odisha. Jio was supposed to deploy telecom infrastructure in Odisha using funds from the government. But the slow pace at which the progress has taken place has got the telecom department concerned. Jio had promised a fast execution of the project to the union telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, yet, it has not happened.
According to a TOI report, out of the 2379 sites planned, only three sites were commissioned eight months after the project was signed. In the LWE-II (Left Wing Extremism) project, only 102 sites have been commissioned against the promised 332 sites. The telecom department has asked the telecom operator to speed up the pace and deliver on its promise. The project is funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
Read More - Reliance Jio Launches 5G in 25 More Cities Across 12 States: Details
The telecom department wants the CEO of the company to look into the matter and take quick actions to resolve the issue of slow execution of the project. It is worth recalling that on January 5, 2023, Vaishnaw inaugurated 100 USOF-funded towers in Bhubaneswar. Jio had promised that the remaining 2761 towers would also be delivered evenly every month. But the truth is, against the required average of 276 towers per month, only five towers have been set up in Jan 2023.
Starting in February, DoT wanted Jio to maintain the pace of at least deploying 200 towers per month. The telco has been busy deploying 5G across the nation. However, the government-funded project is going to ensure connectivity spread in the state of Odisha. Thus, it is an important task for Jio to deliver, especially when it has made promises to the government. Where the 5G rollout is concerned, Jio has been rolling it out at a rapid pace. The telco is likely to reach its goal of covering the entire nation with 5G by the end of this year.
