Mumbai Airport, Metro Go Dark: Telco Row Leaves Millions Offline

Airport and Metro Grids Go Dark

Mumbai's flagship infrastructure projects, the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) and the Mumbai Metro Aqua line, are experiencing a crippling lack of mobile network connectivity. Commuters and travellers have reported complete signal loss, turning state-of-the-art facilities into communication dead zones. This widespread outage stems from a protracted commercial dispute between the infrastructure developers and the nation's major telecom operators.

The Connectivity Impasse

The Adani Group-owned Navi Mumbai International Airport, which commenced operations on December 25, saw immediate complaints regarding the absence of cellular signals from Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea. A similar situation has plagued the Mumbai Metro Aqua line for three months. The core of the conflict lies in the commercial terms demanded for enabling telecom services.

Telecom operators argue that the proposed charges from airport and metro authorities are "exorbitantly" high. They contend that as licensed entities holding spectrum, they are legally entitled to establish infrastructure under the Telecom Act's Right of Way (RoW) rules. Their objection targets the infrastructure developers' insistence on appointing third-party providers to manage connectivity, acting as intermediaries.

Exorbitant Fees and Third-Party Gatekeepers

For Navi Mumbai Airport, operators claim charges of approximately ₹92 lakh per month per operator, amounting to nearly ₹44.16 crore annually for the four major players. This figure, they assert, far exceeds the capital expenditure needed for independent in-building solutions (IBS). Operators suggest they could deploy similar networks at one-fourth the cost. A proposal to align charges with Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) at ₹40 lakh a month was also rejected by operators as unreasonable, given current footfall. In contrast, airports like Delhi reportedly pay ₹10-12 lakh monthly.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) had previously engaged Saudi Arabia-based ACES to act as a neutral host provider for the Aqua line. Infrastructure developers, like NMIA, defend their position by citing the need for strict security protocols, regular maintenance, and swift servicing, which they believe are best managed internally by operators with necessary security clearances.

Regulatory Framework and Government Intervention

The Telecommunications Act, 2023, and its associated RoW Rules mandate that public entities grant telecom infrastructure access on reasonable, transparent, and non-discriminatory terms. Charges should cover administrative and restoration costs, not serve as a revenue stream. However, the applicability of these rules to privately-operated infrastructure like NMIA and the Metro is subject to government notification.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has acknowledged the issue and is actively mediating, holding regular discussions between the telecom operators and infrastructure providers to resolve the impasse. The outcome will significantly influence connectivity standards in future public infrastructure projects.