By Firstdespatch Desk Sep 26, 2026
Agartala, Sept 26 (FD) Tripura West Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday called for strengthening BSNL’s network and customer services across the state, particularly in border and hilly areas, while seeking a review of the progress of 5G services in Tripura.
Deb made the remarks on the sidelines of a Telecom Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting of BSNL at its headquarters at Kaman Choumuhani in Agartala. Rajya Sabha MP Rajib Bhattacharjee and senior telecom officials were also present.
Deb said the meeting would review issues raised during the previous TAC meeting and assess progress in infrastructure development, customer services, employment and network expansion.
“Discussions will cover BSNL’s overall growth, strengthening customer relations, infrastructure development, customer services and employment. We will also identify problems and discuss possible solutions,” he said.
Highlighting connectivity concerns in border areas, Deb said Tripura shares a long international border and several stretches continue to face network-related problems.
“Tripura is a state with an 80 per cent border area. In these border regions, it is often observed that our SIM cards fail to function for stretches of up to 10 kilometres,” he said, suggesting that additional telecom towers along the border could improve coverage.
Deb also linked stronger domestic network coverage in border areas to security requirements. He claimed that in some areas, Bangladeshi network signals reach deep into Indian territory while Indian networks remain unavailable.
“Without our own towers, we cannot communicate, yet Bangladeshi network signals reach up to 15 kilometres into our territory. That poses a greater security risk,” he said.
He further said improved coverage by Indian telecom networks could assist security agencies in accessing call records when required during investigations.
Referring to earlier restrictions on international roaming in the Northeast, Deb said such measures had been introduced in the past amid insurgency-related concerns but were subsequently removed. He said the implementation of the changes had taken some time but the issue had since been resolved.
On technological upgrades, Deb said BSNL had substantially expanded its 4G network and stressed the need to assess the status of 5G services in Tripura.
“Today, I intend to ask why 5G is underperforming here. My report shows that 4G is still the dominant service here. So, what methods or steps are being taken to implement 5G?” he said.
Deb said the TAC meeting would assess the current status of issues raised earlier and identify matters requiring intervention from the Government of India. FD JK