BSNL services in Mankapur tehsil, one of the backbones of rural communication, have reduced to almost zero. By 2025 it lives only by the rail tracks and depends on RailWire’s sparse fiber optic network. Bsnl neglect coupled with migration from PCO to mobile telephony has resulted in remote areas being unserved, affecting both commercial entities and general public.
From Dominance to Decline
Prior to 2008 – BSNL land lines/ PCOs were installed at every nook and corner of the Mankapur tehsil – Khetasar – Shitalganj Grant, Maskanwa, Chandani Chowk on the outskirts. These services brought the world to the residents and helped connect local businesses. But the launch of GSM services began eliminating BSNL’s rural monopoly.
PCOs became redundant, as villagers embraced mobile for its ease of use. BSNL started concentrating in cities instead of expanding into its rural bunk. Mankapur area is completely covered by RailWire, and only areas which are very near to railway track also by BSNL till 2025.
The absence of attention to rural connecticity has been a huge omission. Nearest municipalities have gone from solid landline connections in rural villages, to network blackouts and astronomical costs for basic phone services. This crumbling infrastructure is the price of BSNL’s past strategic choices.
The High Cost of Connectivity
Due to the vacuum created by BSNL’s absence, residents and businesses are dependent on private telecom companies, including Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea. Bringing connectivity to the Last Mile presently costs not less than ₹1,00,000. This includes signal boosters and costly subscriptions that many cannot afford.
For instance, on the negative side, a farmer in Shitalganj Grant was discouraged from digitalizing his farm by the cost of introducing telecom infrastructure. Slightly larger shopkeepers are also unable to take to digital payments, which would allow them to compete with urban businesses.
High cost of access for education and healthcare. Online schooling and telemedicine, meanwhile, which have become vital, are out of reach for most villagers. This digital divide also creates social inequities.
RailWire: A Partial Solution
WiFi is available in some good temples and around the Railway Station, you can use RailWire WiFi (train bluetooth wifi service).RailWire is optical fiber based broadband service managed by RailTel and some connectivity is available in Mankapur. But, it covers only the villages near railway tracks and many villages remain cut-off.” Whereas BSNL has an all-India landline network, RailWire’s network is limited to certain geographical stretches.
Even if RailWire has been a saviour in the areas around railway stations, it does little to serve the wider connectivity needs of the tehsil. Its lack of a comprehensive plan to open its network for expansion highlights the lack of importance placed upon rural telecommunications.
Pvt. Telecom Players In another break from the past, the entry of private telecom players was evident.
Private telecom companies are moving in to fill those gaps but put profits before rural needs. Remote service is expensive and usually uncertain. The promise of Jio was cheap internet, but after all the company’s reach is so weak in many areas that residents have to invest in expensive signal boosters.
Airtel and Vodafone-Idea confront the same difficulties. And their networks operate in densely populated urban centers, providing little reason to venture into far-flung villages. This for-profit model offers Mankapur’s residents few choices and frequent service interruptions.
The dependence of this on the private telecom providers has aroused, on the one hand, privacy concerns and on the other hand, possibilities of data exploitation. BSNL was perhaps the only and the last telecom company that worked for public interest; private telecom companies surely work for their shareholders.
Impact on Rural Businesses
Affordable connectivity is also needed to initiate entrepreneurship in Mankapur, they say. Many rural businesses are finding it hard to embrace digital technology, adding to the rural-urban digital divide. Entrepreneurs in Shitalganj Grant and Maskanwa suffer from frequent outages and high setup costs, discouraging innovation and economic productivity.
For example, local weavers in Maskanwa who used to sell their products through internet-based markets are now constrained to sell in traditional markets. Not only this regression has resulted in their earnings declining, but also in their market reach. Likewise farming cooperatives experience difficulties in getting real time information on the market, hence a reduction in their negotiating capacity.
Implications and Meanings of Social Disconnection
The reduction in telecommunication service has extended social impacts. Young students in hamlets such as Futahiya and Ranijot have to overcome huge barriers to online learning. Since schools are using hybrid models of instruction, these students are not only behind, but are far more behind their urban peers.
Health is yet another sector where bad connectivity seriously hurts. Telemedicine, which has gained attention during the pandemic, is unavailable to most villagers. This disconnect perpetuates health disparities and further burdens the already overstretched rural healthcare systems.
Next, the lack of strong communication makes it difficult to manage disasters. The remote villages of Mankapur are often affected by floods and other natural disasters. And reliable communication is critical to being timely warned and for coordinated relief.
SOLUTIONS TO REVITALIZE CONNECTIVITY
Tackling Mankapur’s connectivity woes needs urgent action:
- Government Aid: This includes–Reviving Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s backbone network in rural areas and encouraging private investment.
- Public Private Partnerships: Partner with telecom companies to provide universal coverage.
- Incentives: Rely on grants to help rural companies to secure telecommunications services.
- Cutting Edge Technology: Satellite internet to break the geo-restriction barrier.
These programs are important, but it is also important for community to get involved. Connectivity projects should be developed and realized with the participation of local stakeholders, in order to be tailored to the region concerned.
The failure of BSNL in Mankapur is a pointer to the failure of rural connectivity. We need to continue working to restore cheaper and more reliable service to allow residents to be connected and to close the urban-rural divide. Without it, programmes such as Digital India will not reach the poorest people in the country.
Restoring Mankapur’s telecommunications infrastructure is more than just a technical challenge; it is a social one as well. Facilitating universal access to communication service will result in empowering and enriching the lives of the people, and then in turn, drive the wheels of sustainable development in the rural heartland of India.
