Phek District Chamber of Commerce & Industry seeks urgent action over poor Airtel network in Phek town

DIMAPUR — The Phek District Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PDCCI) has sought the urgent attention of the Bharti Airtel Limited over the continued and prolonged breakdown of Airtel network services in Phek town over the past several months.

In a letter to the Airtel Appellate Authority, Shillong, on Friday, the PDCCI stated that despite repeated appeals to Airtel representatives, there has been no effective or permanent resolution.

“This persistent failure in telecom connectivity is causing serious and widespread hardship to businesses, educational institutions, emergency service providers, tourists, financial establishments, and daily users who entirely rely on dependable network access for essential digital communication and transactions,” it stated.

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According to the trade body, as per information received from Airtel’s own field technicians, the disruptions are primarily due to recurrent fibre line damage caused by ongoing road construction activities.

“While development is acknowledged, a responsible telecom service provider is legally obligated to ensure uninterrupted essential services, especially in a growing commercial hub such as Phek, under the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations, 2012, Unified License Agreement obligations, and quality of service norms prescribed by TRAI, Airtel is mandated to maintain service continuity, implement preventive safeguards, and deploy backup transmission to avoid outages,” it maintained.

The PDCCI also argued that Airtel's continued failure to meet regulatory standards constitutes a service deficiency under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and infringes upon business subscribers' rights under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, as customers are paying for uninterrupted services.

“The consequence of these failures has resulted in commercial losses, disruption of digital payments and banking services (including UPI and ATMs), breakdown of supply chains and online commerce, interrupted student learning and examinations, and considerable public inconvenience.

“Telecom connectivity is now recognised as a critical infrastructure for economic and administrative functioning. The rapid socio-economic growth of Phek town makes network reliability essential for balanced regional development,” the letter mentioned.

The PDCCI urged Airtel to immediately initiate a permanent and technically robust solution, stating that this should include the installation of a “redundant fibre route,” microwave or satellite-based backup transmission, proper protection of underground fibre conduits, real-time alarm monitoring, local booster enhancement, and direct coordination with contractor authorities undertaking road expansion works to avoid further fibre disruption.

The trade body warned that if Airtel fails to urgently restore stable network services and provide a clear time-bound action plan, it will be compelled to initiate necessary actions through the district administration and competent authorities.

This includes consideration of sealing Airtel's tower sites and office in Phek town under public interest and essential service compliance norms. The PDCCI stated that, as the principal guardian of business welfare in the district, it cannot allow such continuous negligence to hinder the rights and livelihoods of the public.

“We therefore request immediate intervention along with written assurance and detailed plan within 10 working days from the date of this notice,” the letter added.