A contract dispute and shutdown of a third-party provider have caused a complete mobile network blackout on Mumbai Metro’s Aqua Line, impacting Vodafone and BSNL services.
Passengers will no longer be able to make calls on the Aqua Line. FILE PIC/SAYYED SAMEER ABEDI
With the third-party infrastructure provider being switched off for failing to meet contract conditions and any new network, there is now complete communication blackout inside Mumbai Metro’s Aqua Line, the city’s first underground corridor. Vodafone India services that were available between Worli and Aarey-JVLR have also been now impacted, along with BSNL services.
A Vodafone India spokesperson said, “Vi services on the Mumbai Metro line are currently impacted. As per the MMRCL arrangement, Vi’s connectivity was being provided via ACES, whose primary contract with MMRCL is now terminated. Despite our readiness, factors involved are beyond our direct control.”
The third-party provider had also signed a deal with the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). In order to provide cellular connectivity in the underground Metro system, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited had partnered with Saudi Arabia-based Advanced Communications and Electronics Systems Company (ACES).
The contention?
Commissioning a third-party vendor was in line with the best practices followed by other large-scale infrastructure projects such as airports and Metro rails across India. But telcos disputed this and said the Aqua Line has created a monopoly on providing connectivity exclusively through a third-party vendor.
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