Date:15/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/15/stories/2008111554280400.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Permission to lay cables suspended

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has suspended until further orders the permission given to Reliance Communication and Bharti Airtel to lay cables cutting across roads. The PWD Secretary said here today that the decision was taken by a meeting of secretaries of the department as the band width to be given to the State government had not been given so far. Under the agreement with the government the telecom companies should give 10 MBPS in the three network operating centres and four MBPS in district and block headquarters to the government, but this understanding had not been fully implemented by many companies. The meeting asked the Chief Engineers and the Executive Engineers not to allow these two telecom companies to lay cable cutting across roads. —Special Correspondent