NCRTC invites mobile-coverage in stretch of NCR rail corridor tender

To ensure uninterrupted mobile connectivity along with comfortable travel experience, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has invited tenders for mobile-coverage solution providers in the underground stretch of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut rapid rail corridor.

This includes providing licensing space for in-building solutions (IBS) for shared mobile coverage.

Of the total RRTS corridor, around 12km is underground – a 4km tunnel section in Delhi with Anand Vihar station and a 8km tunnel corridor in Uttar Pradesh with three stations at Meerut Central, Bhaisali and Begumpul in Meerut.

According to the tender, a single neutral host provider will offer IBS through a common infrastructure for all current and future mobile operators. “This arrangement will help mobile operators serve their customers better. The provider will offer shared solutions for various types of telecom operators and their techniques, including GSM, UMTS, LTE and 5G technologies,” said an official of NCRTC, which is executing the project.

“It has often been observed in the existing mass urban transportation systems that commuters face challenges of broken or no mobile network in the underground sections. Elevated sections have no such problem as coverage is ensured by the deployed telecom infrastructure,” said an official. “In today’s time when connectivity is fundamental, we want to address the issue even before the commencement of the RAPIDX services,” he added.

The initiative is also a step towards augmenting the non-fare box revenue by monetising the commercial potential of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, which will act as a source of funds for meeting operations costs, the official said. ToI