PANJIM: The boast that Goa will be the first State to go cashless may remain just that — nothing more than a statement – for some time to come.
To toe the line of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation and encourage less use of cash, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that Goa will be the first State in the country to go “cashless”, which mean either a Goan will pay or accept payments through cards, online transfers, e-commerce or mobile apps. A very smart move, as many in Goa even have a smart phone, however, the bigger issue is whether the State will put the cart before the horse, which means, is the infrastructure ready for seamless connectivity as no transaction can happen without proper internet connection?
Most major telecom companies are still combating opposition to install cell sites (mobile towers) across Goa. The resistance for mobile tower installation in the State is strong compared to other parts of the country where telecom companies are welcome to install such sites. With elections drawing close, populist measures will be taken by the government, but it will be difficult for the government to get a mobile tower installed if villagers apprehend health concerns and refuse to coooperate with either the State or mobile operators.
Goa requires more than 300 mobile towers to improve the current network. During peak hours most of the networks are congested, the main reason being that number of towers is either insufficient or most are located away from concentration of population or in an isolated place.
Speaking to Herald on the preparedness for seamless connectivity to ease the “cashless” business, Telecom Department in Goa General Manager Yogesh Mishra said, “During the BRICS Summit we upgraded our system and we have augmented and enhanced our capacity by at least double. When everything will be done online, traffic will rise by at least 1.5 times the present level. We are prepared to meet such challenges and in Goa it is almost completed as we did that before the BRICS summit. We also have the plans to install wifi hotspots at various crowded places, like markets, malls etc.”
BSNL, which at present transmits 10 to 15 mbps speed will soon be augmenting and increasing it to 50 mbps in rural areas and in urban areas it will be raised to 100 mbps and this programme is on across the country.
Cell Operators Association of India (COAI) had sought a permission to install 61 permanent mobile towers to improve connectivity at BRICS venues and nearby areas where there would be a constant movement of BRICS delegates.
“To improve the facilities more than 1200 cell sites need to be added to the current total 3500 cell sites to facilitate efficient network quality and better connectivity for residents and as well as for tourists who visit Goa every year,” said COAI Director General Rajan Mathews.
The infrastructure providing company Indus, managed to get 38 sites, besides Indus, Idea and BSNL installed two each that total to 42 sites.
Indus was the executing authority, while all key operators including BSNL had shared their antennas on Indus tower. All 38 sites of Indus have equal sharing space of mobile antennas for Vodafone (23), Idea (23) and Reliance Jio (21). Of the 42 sites, 11 were COW (Cell on Wheel) and three of them have dismantled recently. Besides tower installations, COAI had also sought permission for laying 43.3 km of fibers which has been completed.
