The Ministry of Telecommunications (DOT) recently announced the launch of its Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) facility, which uses a 4G mobile website funded by digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN). The ICR facility was unveiled by Alliance Communications Minister Jyotiradiitya Scindia along with the Sanchar Saathi application. The ICR program brings together three major telecommunications service providers in the country, including BSNL, Airtel and Reliance Jio, to “harness each other’s infrastructure on all DBN-funded websites.” This is said to help bridge the telecommunications gap across rural and remote areas.
Intra Circle roams in India for Reliance Jio, BSNL and Airtel users
Reliance Jio, BSNL and India’s Airtel users can make calls with the help of DBN-funded mobile towers and access other 4G services, even if their specific telecom service providers do not have towers nearby. The ICR program allows three telecom operators to use each other’s infrastructure at DBN-funded sites. Previously, only subscribers of a specific network could benefit from towers running near that operator.
It is worth noting that DBN is a fund established by the Indian government as part of the Telecommunications Act 2023. The fund aims to improve telecommunications connectivity and affordability. This is said to make telecommunications services easier to access in remote areas of the country.
According to an official press release, the move is expected to help bridge the “telecommunications gap” in India. It is said to provide seamless 4G connectivity to 35,400 rural and remote villages with approximately 27,000 towers. It is expected to benefit users through “lower capital expenditures for operators and governments).
The Ministry of Telecom also launched the Sanchar Saathi application in India. The app is available for iOS and Android smartphones and it is said to provide users with important tools to protect their telecom resources and combat telecom fraud. It also introduced the National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0 visual file. It reveals the main goal of connecting 170,000 villages across the country.
