Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel said the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has recognized Airtel’s innovative solution to boost mobile connectivity in deep rural locations.
DoT – at the India TERM cell conclave in Chilika (Odisha) — recognized Airtel’s Network Planning team for being instrumental in implementing innovative methods to bring mobile connectivity to the remote village of Tamangi in Kandhamal District of Odisha.
Ghanashyam Bhattacharya and Pabrita Rout from Airtel’s Odisha network team got a special letter of appreciation from the DoT Secretary for their out of the box solution.
Villagers were forced to travel to the hilltop, which was extremely inconvenient and not always possible, to receive or make a voice call. This was because there was no fiber or microwave in the area. In addition, the nearest mobile site from the village of Tamangi was 25 kms away. The only location in the village, which received very feeble mobile signal was a nearby hilltop.
Telecom engineers at Airtel realized that using a Repeater was the only to provide coverage with a low cost solution. But there were challenges in getting an input signal as well as installing Repeaters in the hilly area. In addition, it was not possible to cover the whole of Tamangi village with a single Repeater.
Business leaders at Bharti Airtel’s local network team introduced an unconventional solution, which included installing 12 meter poles with a Yagi antenna on the Hilltop. Telecom engineers of Airtel boosted the signal by installing a Repeater within the village and channelled output through a combination of conventional panel and old 2G antennas that normally get discarded.
This low cost innovative solution boosted signals across the village and brought much needed connectivity to the residents, who are now extremely happy that they don’t need to walk up to the hilltop or travel to another village to make calls.
