The Central government has instructed all telecom service providers to immediately activate the intra-circle roaming (ICR) facility in Jammu and Kashmir until September 2. This directive, an official communication said, comes after a widespread collapse of telecom services in large parts of the region.
Relentless rain for four days has caused flood-like conditions in the Jammu division, leaving a large number of people disconnected. The Department of Telecommunications' disaster management unit issued the order, stating:
"In view of the prevailing situation due to heavy rainfall and multiple landslides in Jammu and Kashmir, and in accordance with Clause 29.6 of the unified license and as per the provisions of SOP 2020 for responding to disasters, all telecom service providers are hereby instructed to activate the intra-circle roaming facility for the J-K Union Territory with immediate effect till 23:59 hours of September 2, or until further instructions, whichever is earlier".
The order also specified that the ICR facility should be extended to all visitors in Jammu and Kashmir and should be treated with top priority.
Network outages
Network outages from all service providers were reported across the region due to extensive damage to optical fibers caused by the incessant rain. This communication blackout has hindered emergency response efforts and caused panic among residents. The affected telecom operators have stated that technical teams are working to restore services as quickly as possible.
ICR facility
The ICR facility will enable the users to connect to other networks when their own provider's cellular tower/network is unavailable. For example, if a Jio user is facing weak signals, they can seamlessly connect to a nearby Airtel or BSNL tower.
ALSO READ: Man asks ChatGPT to count to a million; his frustration highlights AI's limitations | Watch video
Jio and Apple team up to launch special messaging service on iPhones
