The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) may install jammers along India's international border to block mobile phone signals from neighboring countries as part of the fight against terrorism.
Kolkata: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) may install jammers along India's international border to block mobile phone signals from neighboring countries as part of the fight against terrorism. The first set of jammers are proposed along the Indo-Pakistan border, even as the Foreign Ministry is likely to solve the problem of mobile phone signal spillovers along India's borders with its neighboring countries by through diplomatic channels, according to the minutes of an interdepartmental oversight group meeting seen by ET.
The government is keen to control any potential cross-border spillover of cellphone signals to eliminate unauthorized access to mobile networks in neighboring countries like Pakistan, especially since such spillover can facilitate communications between terrorists. The DoT's technical wing, Telecom Engineering Center (TEC), is examining the possibility of creating an electronic fence by "installing jammers to block GSM and CDMA telephone signals from foreign carriers in neighboring countries." But the MoD isn't too keen on the proposed deployment of jammers.
Senior Ministry of Defense officials present at the meeting said "operating and maintaining a multitude of signal jammer along the international border would be a daunting challenge." They also pointed out that such blocking of mobile signals from neighboring countries would require the installation of a large number of jammers, as such devices can effectively block 3-4 km, which could become impossible to deploy. The DoT has also been asked to expedite measures to stop any potential overflow of mobile signals from Indian telecom operators across its international borders.
This is especially after Pakistan's telecommunications regulator earlier this year urged that country's leadership to take up with India the issue of removing mobile towers near the border whose signals allegedly spilled into Pakistan's territory. country.
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority reportedly claimed that these signals emanated from mobile phone towers in India located near the Indo-Pakistan border.