By Our Spl Correspondent
Shillong: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on Friday launched their WIMAX facility to service the rural areas of Meghalaya.
Having launched the first WIMAX service at Ampati in Garo Hills recently, on Friday the WIMAX towers at Laitkor Peak were activated to serve the interests of rural users.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Mawprem MLA Manas Chaudhuri lauded the BSNL authorities for bringing the WIMAX technology to the North East much before it has been tried and tested in the rest of the country.
“Usually we get delayed or discarded technology for this region. However it is also important to ensure that the cost for using this new technology is not prohibitive,” Chaudhuri said.
Speaking of the over-all services of BSNL particularly mobile telephony the Mawprem MLA said the technological barriers that impede good service should be overcome. He asked the BSNL officers present in large numbers to do better with client handling, improving connectivity and to inform customers of the problems that the company encounters.
“You are now a public sector company and should function like one. Please leave behind the baggage of government employees,” Chaudhuri exhorted.
Earlier the Chief General Manager Telecom (CGMT) DP Singh, who had taken over three months ago, said when the Telecom journey began, the North East was left to itself. It was only much later that the Government of India realized the importance of connectivity to promote development. Now he said there is a revolution in communication.
George Marshall, General Manager, Telecom informed that the Department is encountering massive problems due to the destruction of cables along the Shillong Guwahati highway on account of the road expansion project of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). He said the damage to underground cables is the reason for poor service.
“Even within the city of Shillong we have cable thefts very often. Our cables are made of pure copper so the thieves have a field day. Unfortunately we are not in a position to also do the policing part. That’s not our job,” Marshall said. He called on citizens to play a pro-active role in helping the Department cope up with the cable thefts by ensuring that it does not happen in their localities.
The WIMAX technology is expected to facilitate better internet connectivity for the rural people particularly through the Community Service Centres (CSCs) which are providing Government to Citizen (G2C) services. WIMAX will also enable farmers to keep abreast with the market prices of farm produce apart from other online services.