Shillong: Residents from over sixty villages in the northern periphery of Meghalaya‘s Ri-Bhoi district have urgently appealed to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma regarding what they describe as “extremely poor” and “persistent” mobile network services provided by Bharti Airtel.
In a letter sent to the Chief Minister, villagers highlighted Airtel’s alleged failure to fulfill its responsibilities under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), a scheme designed to provide mobile connectivity in remote and tribal-dominated areas.
“The service is highly erratic with frequent and prolonged network outages, often lasting several hours,” the letter stated. It further detailed the immense hardship faced by the largely poor, tribal pre-paid users, who remain cut off from essential services, emergency communications, and financial transactions.
The affected communities have previously lodged complaints with the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and even wrote to Union Communication Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Despite these efforts, Airtel’s service in the area remains substandard. “We also understand the Ministry of Communication also provides financial support to Airtel to ensure smooth mobile connectivity in our area,” it stated.
The letter accused Bharti Airtel of “shamelessly” continuing to collect full advance payments from users without offering any validity extensions or compensation for service disruptions. This, they argue, amounts to “negligence” and “exploitation of marginalized communities.”
The villagers are urging Chief Minister Sangma to intervene and communicate with Sunil Bharti Mittal, owner of Bharti Airtel, to ensure accountability for the poor service. They have specifically requested that Airtel be held accountable for its poor service delivery, the Department of Telecommunications be informed for an urgent technical audit, consideration of alternative service providers if Airtel fails to meet its obligations as well as compensation for villagers for the prolonged outages and inconvenience.
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The residents emphasized that this issue directly impacts the welfare and digital inclusion of a significant tribal population, expressing hope that the state government will address the matter seriously and ensure timely resolution.
