Till four-five years back, the Indian mobile network service were not available in locations near the borders, as telcos were required to fade out signals just ahead of the border.

The government is working on penetrating transmitters in all the border areas of the country to block mobile networks of the neighbouring countries, which was an issue for years and several customers complained of getting cross-connections with other global networks without their knowledge.

“There were several complaints from consumers of cross connection near the border States like the Northeast and Ladakh. But, transmitters are being put up in those areas soon, to block those network. Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC) of the Department of Telecommunications is working on the project,” a senior government official told businessline.

WPC is the national radio regulatory authority of India, under the DoT.

Till four-five years back, the Indian mobile network service were not available in locations near the borders, as telcos were required to fade out signals just ahead of the border.

Billing Problems

However, the DoT in August 2022 amended the licence norms to remove restrictions on telecom connectivity near international border areas, paving the way for better mobile coverage in these locations.

While, the amendment removed restrictions on telecom connectivity near international border areas, at the same time there were instances of mobile service switching over to international roaming automatically and customers complaining of telcos billing them of the network they haven’t used.

Earlier this year, there have been reports of customers getting international roaming charges billed after their mobile phones reportedly picked up a Chinese network signal during their visit to Nathu La pass in Sikkim, which sparked fresh concerns of border-area telecom coverage and billing practices.

Roaming Charges

In the past also, users have experienced getting text messages saying “Welcome to Bangladesh” while on trips to border areas of Assam and Meghalaya, and have been charged for international roaming from their mobile service providers.

“That is why these transmitters are being installed in all the base stations near the borders to curb their networks or relay back their radiowaves, so that such signals do not interfere with our networks…WPC is working on it and it’s just a matter of a few days,” the official added.

Published on November 9, 2026