Airtel blames lack of mobile towers for call drops

NEW DELHI: With call drops becoming frequent, top telecom operator Bharti Airtel has blamed the lack of mobile towers for this problem, saying there is an urgent need to clear the 'misinformation' about their radiation effect.

“We need both spectrum and more sites for mobile towers. In Delhi Lutyens area alone we need 217 sites, but we have only 117 sites,” Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO - India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel, told PTI in an interview.

“There is need to create awareness among the people and clear misinformation that they have about radiations,” he said.

The statement comes in the backdrop of telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad doing some tough-talk on the issue of call drops. He recently said the telcom operators need to walk the “extra mile” to ensure that quality service is delivered to people and that consumers do not face issues like call drops.