Cellphone users harried by network problem

Cellphone users harried by network problem
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 7
A majority of cellphone users in the Jammu region are facing a lot of problems these days, as the major service providers, both private or public, are having a signal problem.

The network having remained down for the last few days has not only caused losses to the business community but also to the commoners, as there has hardly been any signal. Even the short message service (SMS), which was started in the state recently, is not working properly, as the messages from one network to the other are not being delivered on time. And if the messages reach the cellphone users, they are delivered at least 10-12 times.

Sources say the network problem is the result of the number portability, which was launched by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) across the country recently. “The network providers here are having more load than their existing infrastructure, which is causing the network problem, causing service disturbances to the customers,” said the sources. They added that the problem peaked during daytime when the network load was the maximum, and also resulted into dropping of calls.

However, the officials of the mobile phone companies claimed that there was no network problem and the signal problem was all due to the recent orders of the state government. A customer care executive of Bharti Airtel told The Tribune that the government had banned the minter-network SMS facility. “The SMS facility is available at Airtel, but both receiver and sender must have its connections,” she said.

On the other hand, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) claimed that there was no network problem and they had not received any information about the ban on the inter-network SMS facility from the state or Central governments.

S Sawarkar, General Manager, BSNL, said, “There is no network problem, as we have not received any such complaint. If there is a connectivity problem regarding BSNL, we assure the users that the problem will be resolved at the earliest”.

He added that, “The government has not issued any circular to ban the inter-network message service. If there is any such problem, it might have been for a short period. But we will have to check it, as we have not received any such complaint”.

However, the mobile phone users lamented that their network providers were not providing them adequate information in this regard. “It is not confirmed whether the message is being delivered to other network users or not. The mobile phone companies are not giving any authentic information to their users. There is total confusion,” said Anand Kumar, a BSNL cellphone user.