Telcos get innovative to enable mobile-Aadhaar link in rural hinterland
23 Nov 2017
With the government unrelenting in its demand that all mobile numbers be linked to Aadhaar identification, India's telecom companies have come up with a number of innovations to help customers, especially those in the rural areas, to do the needful.
Market leader Bharti Airtel is conducting special camps for rural subscribers to complete their Aadhaar-based SIM re-verification, while Vodafone India, its nearest rival, has despatched special vans to Rajasthan's hinterland to help customers link their SIM and Aadhaar numbers at their doorsteps, The Economic Times reports. Idea Cellular, the third-largest telco, has also set up mobile camps in rural locations.
The Union government wants telcos to ensure their customers across the country have linked their mobile numbers with the biometric-based identity number by 6 February 2018, a tall order. India had 1.18 billion mobile subscribers at end of September, according to data posted on the website of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
''The company's mobile vans-based initiative to link customer SIM numbers with their Aadhaar can be extended to other circles if the Rajasthan pilot works,'' a top Vodafone India executive told ET. Vodafone's mini vans are also helping rural customers in Rajasthan with 2G and 3G connections to upgrade to 4G.
A senior Idea executive told ET the company had set up temporary canopies in rural markets to speed up the re-verification process and ''canopies on bikes, too, had been sent out'' to rural pockets across the country. The Aditya Birla Group-owned telco has deployed teams to visit the homes of senior citizens and physically disabled customers to register their biometrics.
Reliance Jio Infocomm, which started its services in September 2016, did not reply to ET's queries on initiatives it has taken in this regard.
The top three telcos also appear to be going out of their way to bond better with customers, especially after the Supreme Court hauled up them up for causing panic by sending messages that accounts would be deactivated if not linked to Aadhaar even as a Constitution bench is yet to decide on the validity of the move. The government maintains that the Supreme Court has approved the mandatory Aadhaar-cellphone linking.
The push to offer re-verification at the doorsteps of customers comes as customers find it inconvenient to visit the offices of telcos to complete this task, especially in rural areas and for the elderly and the physically handicapped.
