RAJAHMUNDRY:With lakhs of pilgrims descending on the city to participate in the ongoing Godavari Maha Pushkaralu, there has been an increase in the mobile usage to the extent of 50 to 70 per cent since the commencement of the event on July 14.
Anticipating this, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has not only set up temporary cell towers, but also pressed into service Cells On Wheels (COWs) and thereby increased the capacity of existing mobile towers, according to BSNL Deputy General Manager Srinivas Rao.
He told Express here on Sunday that while the temporary cell towers had been erected at PMK Choultry, Morampudi Junction, etc., the COWs had been stationed near the APSEB office on the Godavari Bund, the SKR College for Women and the Municipal Staidum.
The BSNL DGM said that COWs, being used for the first time in the district, had been brought from Visakhapatnam and Anantapur districts. He said that COWs were used in conventions, disaster areas and at places where there were no regular cell towers. A COW consisted of a cellular antenna tower and an electronic radio trans-receiver equipment - all mounted on a truck or trailer, he explained.
He further said that the BSNL had also provided ‘5G WIFI’ facility at the Central Bus Station, Kotipalli and Gokavaram bus stations, Godavari and Town stations, Government College, Saraswati Ghat, SKR College for Women, Luthergiri, Gemini Grounds, etc. Besides, a ‘hot spot equipment’ had been set up at the Office of the BSNL General Manager, he added.
The 5GWIFI would benefit customers in a radius of 200 metres. Stating that the customers could use the first 30 minutes free of cost, he added that the BSNL had provided coupons in various denominations from Rs 10 onwards.
He said that the BSNL was helping the district administration in counting the number of pilgrims coming into the city for participating in the GMP.