Telecom operators have sought intervention from the government amid an increase in incidents of theft of active equipment, which are leading to huge losses and additional expenditure for them.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said remote radio unit and baseband unit are the main equipment being stolen and from October 2023 onwards, such incidents have increased multifold.
“This is a matter of serious concern, not just for the service providers, but also for the public at large. Thus, strict action is required on the part of the authorities to prevent such incidents in the future,” COAI said in a letter to the department of telecommunications (DoT) secretary Neeraj Mittal on Thursday.
COAI has urged DoT to take the matter with all State Chief Secretaries to prioritise such complaints of theft and ensure strict action on the same. It has also urged DoT to coordinate with states for Police protection for telecom infrastructure, especially in theft-prone areas.
The theft incidents are disproportionately higher in few specific geographies of Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Assam, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Punjab and Haryana. Just 31 districts are contributing to 50% of the theft incidents reported pan India, COAI said.
Telcos have also cited suspicion that the stolen equipment is being sold through some of the foreign websites and urged the government to block them. This includes URLs of websites such as ebay, Alibaba, Telefly, etc.
“With the rising incidents of theft, customers are the ones suffering the most. While these incidents almost always lead to decline in the quality of services to the customers being served by the site, there may also be instances where services cease completely,” COAI said.
Theft of active equipment is covered within the offence of causing damage to telecom infrastructure under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.