Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Jio, Airtel and BSNL Subscribers Can Now Use DBN-Funded Mobile Towers to Make Calls With Intra Circle Roaming

Share

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently announced the launch of its Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) facility that uses Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) funded 4G mobile sites. The ICR facility was inaugurated alongside the Sanchar Saathi App by Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia. The ICR initiative brings together three major telecommunications service providers in the country, including BSNL, Airtel, and Reliance Jio, to “leverage each other’s infrastructure at all DBN-funded sites.” This is said to help bridge the telecom gap across rural and remote areas.

Intra Circle Roaming for Reliance Jio, BSNL, and Airtel Users in India

Reliance Jio, BSNL, and Airtel users in India can make calls and access other 4G services with the help of DBN-funded mobile towers even if their particular telecom service provider does not have a tower in the vicinity. The ICR initiative allows the three telecom operators to use each other’s infrastructure at DBN-funded sites. Previously, only subscribers of a specific network could benefit from a tower run by that operator, in their vicinity.

Notably, the DBN is a fund established by the Indian government as part of the Telecommunications Act of 2023. The fund aims to improve telecommunications connection and affordability. It is said to make telecom services more accessible in remote parts of the country.

This move is expected to help bridge “the telecom gap” in India, according to the official press release. It is claimed to offer seamless 4G connectivity to 35,400 rural and remote villages that are served by about 27,000 towers. It is also expected to benefit users with a “lower capex (Capital Expenditures) investment of the operators and Government.”

The Department of Telecommunications also launched the Sanchar Saathi App in India. The app is available for both iOS and Android smartphones, and it is said to provide users with important tools to secure their telecom resources and combat telecom fraud. It introduced the National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0 vision document as well. It reveals the primary objective to connect 1.7 lakh villages across the country.