Poor telecom network in NE a concern: Assocham

The Northeastern states are plagued by low tele-density and inadequate telecom services, hindering economic growth and development, a study said.

"In addition to the low tele-density, the quality of services in the region is also a matter of concern. The telecom network is inadequate to handle the traffic resulting in repeated congestion," a statement by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India quoting the study said on Thursday.

"Closely linked with the expansion and growth of IT is stable and quality infrastructure like telecommunication. The hilly region having a difficult terrain has limitation in terms of physical connectivity and has sparse habitations," it said.

Stating that the Nort East has only reached a nascent stage of e-governance, it said concerted efforts were needed for capacity building and technology upgradation to bring it on par with the rest of the country.

Billing disputes were frequent due to non-availability of online payment while the processing centre was outside the region, the study entitled 'Serving the Common Man through e-governance' said.

Most service providers faced difficulty in securing permission to lay cables, getting land for base transreceiver stations and other infrastructure for which the charges are also high.

Poor quality of roads affected transport of telecom equipment and machinery while cables are frequently damaged by natural causes like landslides or mischief by miscreants.

Frequent bandhs and blockades in the states also led to time and cost overruns, the study said.

Many NE states did not provide IT enabled citizen centric services at present and the National Informatics Centre has the task to upgrade the existing technical support in the region to facilitate e-governance, said the study.

There was also dearth of specialized manpower to handle e-governance programs for which training of employees was needed, the study prepared in association with PriceWaterHouseCoopers said. Regular upgradation of software and update of the content on government websites was also important for e-governance infrastructure of the NE states.

Noting that Indias increasingly close relationship with ASEAN has increased the importance of north eastern region, the study pointed out that the region had a high literacy rate and large number of English speaking workforce and the development of telecommunication and information technology would ensure all round socio-economic development of the region.