Mobile communication is the most resilient form of communication and Indus Towers strives to provide continuous connectivity in times of natural calamities. The need to stay connected gains paramount importance as mobile connection is central to all rescue operations and in maintaining flow of information in critical periods of time.
Amidst the unprecedented rains and floods, which ravaged many parts of Kerala and resulted in massive destruction of lives and property, there have been numerous instances of professionals staying true to their duties despite severe obstacles. Indus Towers, the world’s largest telecom tower company (outside China) immediately stepped in with field engineers who battled against all odds to provide on-ground support and rehabilitation to assist people and local authorities in the flood impacted regions of Kerala.
The Indus Kerala team voluntarily joined hands to repair and restore most of the mobile towers in the flood-hit areas in a record time and round-the-clock hard work. Realising the importance to keep up the network connection for government officials and public, a full-fledged war room was opened at Cochin circle office with participation from all operator companies’ representatives and circle functional heads. The room acted as a bridge between the field and the circle office to continuously monitor site status.
The company also liaised with the government agencies like Indian Oil Corporation and NDRF for getting favourable orders for smooth movement of diesel. As the state witnessed shortage of fuel supplies, Indus with the support of government officials managed to get permission to fill diesel to sites in short notice to provide connectivity. Indus has been continuously working to restore the telecom towers that have been disrupted following the flood and landslips and continue to collaborate and mobilize its channel partners to help in these efforts.
The telecom service providers and government bodies also did their utmost best to ensure seamless connectivity by offering a number of specialised services. All the major operators implemented the missing person location service, and IVRS based distress reporting by customers was also explored. A number of BTS units were deployed in the relief camp and other important locations to make sure that connectivity wasn’t hampered. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) also issued an order, relaxing SIM replacement guidelines, which the operators completely complied with.
