Agartala, July 6 (TIWN) The Indian government is yet to decide on the improvement of mobile networks along the international border areas of the northeastern states due to security reasons, a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) official said here on Saturday.

"If the mobile networks along the bordering areas of northeastern states improve then it (system) would be used and misused by the inimical elements, terrorists and criminals for their vested and illicit interests," BSNL General Manager Asheesh Pathak told the media.  "If we improve the mobile networks along the bordering areas or we set up Base Transceiver Stations (BTS)s, then the people inside and across the borders and foreign elements could exploit the system. If they do any crime using the Indian networks, no law enforcing agencies could track their activities." 

Only 250 km out of northeast India''s 5,687 km outer perimeter touches India. The remaining 5,437 km represents international boundaries with China (1,300), Myanmar (1,643 km), Bangladesh (1,880 km), Bhutan (516 km) and Nepal (98 km). 

He said that after Reliance Jio, BSNL is the second major telephone service provider operating in Tripura and the other northeastern states.  "BSNL has launched many customer friendly schemes including 4G mobile services to further expand its base in the region," he added.  The official said that to improve the quality of BSNL services, the FTTH (Fiber To The Home) has to be extended all across the northeastern states.  Another senior BSNL official said that the state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) would provide technical support to BSNL to further improve connectivity in the far-flung areas of the mountainous northeastern states. 

The PGCIL has an extensive underground cable network in northeast India and BSNL will use this network to link the state capitals and other important towns of the mountainous region.