DoT activates Intra-Circle Roaming in J&K, Assam and Nagaland after severe weather disruptions
DoT activates Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) in J&K, Assam and Nagaland after severe weather disruptions
- DoT activated an emergency response mechanism and issued directions to Telecom Service Providers to enable Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) in specific disaster-affected districts.
- ICR allows mobile subscribers to access another operator’s network within the same telecom circle when their home network is temporarily unavailable.
- ICR was enabled in Poonch and Rajouri (Jammu & Kashmir), Sibsagar, Charaideo and Jorhat (Assam), and Mon (Nagaland).
What happened
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) activated emergency measures to maintain telecom service continuity in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland after severe weather disrupted communication networks. DoT instructed all Telecom Service Providers to enable Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) in the following districts: Jammu & Kashmir (Poonch and Rajouri), Assam (Sibsagar, Charaideo and Jorhat), and Nagaland (Mon).
Background and earlier position
ICR activation is an operational resilience tool: it complements physical restoration of telecom infrastructure by improving short-term service availability through network sharing within the same telecom circle. UPSC can frame the policy trade-off between fast connectivity for citizens during emergencies and the need for technical coordination and verification by telecom service providers.
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