Vodafone Idea (Vi), a prominent Indian telecom service provider (TSP), is setting up emergency calling booths for consumers to contact the relevant authorities when in need of help. The emergency calling booths are being set up in the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Vi has partnered with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd (MSRDC) to do this. Under the partnership, Vi will set up emergency calling booths every two kilometres in the expressway to enable people to reach out in case of emergencies. Through the booths, travellers can contact the state highway police control room directly.
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Vi will ensure that each calling booth is connected all the time (24x7) for public safety. Vi will use its SIM at these booths to maintain uniformity and avoid any sort of network disruption. MSRDC will manage the other aspects such as maintaining the equipment and responding to the problems or queries of the commuters.
Rohit Tandon, Cluster Business Head (Maharashtra and Goa), Vodafone Idea, said, "As a leading telecom operator, we are honoured to partner with MSRDC to enable ubiquitous connectivity for the public at large. Today, while most commuters have mobile phones, they might not be aware of whom to connect with or how to explain their location in times of distress. In certain emergency situations, these emergency calling booths have proven to be a life-saving tool for establishing fast and direct connection with the high patrol, especially in cases of medical situations, accidents, and vehicle breakdowns."
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Vi has not commented on whether it is going to bring the same sort of communication booths on highways of other states. But if this is a success, it will definitely inspire the other state governments to partner with telecom operators to bring the same to their roads.