A mobile tower has been installed for the first time at Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. In collaboration with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the army personnel established the base transceiver station (BTS) at forward posts on October 6 to extend mobile communication for the soldiers deployed at more than 15,500 feet, said XIV Corps or Fire and Fury Corps responsible for guarding borders with China and Pakistan.
Fire and Fury Corps posted the news on social media platform X on October 12. Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications, Government of India, and industrialist Anand Mahindra were among eminent people who also took to the social media platform to laud the significant development.
The new BTS has fulfilled the long pending requirement of mobile connectivity to the soldiers deployed in the most trying circumstances to guard borders with China and Pakistan.
Earlier, the 3,000 troops deployed at Siachen communicated through satellite phones and landlines. Mobile connectivity now gives them unhindered access to the rest of the world. It would also facilitate quick transfer of data and images from posts situated upwards of the Siachen base camp, where a soldier remains posted for 90 days due to the extreme harsh weather conditions.
