29.9.14

Of 4G services in Hyderabad....

If everything goes according to plan, the fourth generation broadband (4G) services would be rolled out in the city in the first week of October.Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) is planning to commence 4G services during the Metropolis World Congress 2014 to be held at HICC in Madhapur from October 7 to 10. In the first phase, the services would cover about 310 square km, especially west and central zones of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) like Madhapur, Hi-Tec City, Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Gachibowli and surrounding areas. These services would be extended to other parts of the city by the end of December this year. Reliance has planned to cover about 1,700 kms by laying optical fibre cable network with an investment of Rs.4,100 crore in the entire Telangana. Of the total length, 900 kms has been planned in Greater Hyderabad.
“Since over 1,000 delegates from about 60 countries are going to take part in the international event, the state government asked Reliance to demonstrate the 4G services during Metropolis World Congress,“ Information Technology and Communication secretary Harpreet Singh said.
GHMC has already permitted Reliance for aerial cables in August this year.Initially in 2013, it permitted RJIL to lay underground cable for about 70 km. As the restoration of roads after digging was not satisfactory, the GHMC commissioner cancelled permission for road cutting.
Reliance then approached the state government and sought permission for aerial cabling by utilising existing electrical poles, thus eliminating the need of road digging and restoration which is a time consuming process.
The corporation approved the proposal of aerial cabling and decided to collect some rent from the service provider for utilising the poles. GHMC allowed Reliance to use as many as 9,000 poles and charged it Rs.1,000 per pole.
The state government has been giving top priority for IT and IT enabled services as it will help in fuelling growth of the city.Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and IT Minister KT Rama Rao have been monitoring the works to bring IT services including Wi-Fi services to the city.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department issued a GO amending the guidelines for installation of ground based, rooftop tower shelter and antennas especially for cell towers.
As of now, erection of any telecommunication infrastructure tower or pole or accessory room shall be permitted only on buildings with valid permissions and occupancy certificate from the local body.
But on the representation by Reliance Jio Infocomm, the state government amended the permission stating that it would be given for mobile towers on buildings based on a No Objection Certificate from building owners instead of sanctioned plan and occupancy certificate.

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