NEW DELHI: Telecom tower manufacturers on Tuesday expressed concern over the stoppage of LPG supply, which may impact the continuity of mobile and internet services across the country.
LPG supplies for telecom tower manufacturers have been stopped by oil firms following a government order to provide it solely to domestic LPG consumers, digital infrastructure industry body Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) said.
The telecom tower infrastructure has expressed apprehension that the fuel crisis due to the current geopolitical development may impact the continuity of mobile and internet services across the country, and sought government intervention to prioritise power supply for the sector.
The digital infrastructure industry body has written to Telecom Secretary Amit Agarwal for his urgent intervention in the matter.
“LPG supplies to telecom tower manufacturing companies from Oil Marketing Companies have been discontinued with effect from 05 March 2026, following the Order issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas directing that LPG procured by public sector OMCs be supplied solely to domestic LPG consumers,” DIPA said in a response to a PTI query.
The industry body said that suspension of LPG supplies has created a serious operational challenge for tower manufacturing units, as galvanization operations used in tower production are largely LPG or LNG-fired.
“To prevent damage to galvanization plants and maintain zinc in molten form, some manufacturing partners have shifted to low-flame operations. However, if the disruption continues, plants may be forced to remove molten zinc and shut down operations entirely. Restarting these facilities requires significant time, which could lead to prolonged disruption in tower manufacturing,” DIPA said.
The industry body, whose members include Indus Towers, Ascend Telecom Infrastructure, Vodafone Idea, Gentari India etc, said a continued halt in LPG or LNG supplies is likely to impact the telecom tower manufacturing supply chain and may delay ongoing and planned tower deployment.
“This could affect network expansion and efforts to strengthen telecom connectivity, particularly in uncovered and capacity-constrained areas,” DIPA said.
DIPA has requested DoT to take up the matter with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas so that LPG and LNG supplies to telecom tower manufacturing units may be exempted from the Order dated 05 March 2026 and restored at the earliest.
The industry body has also raised concerns regarding the dependence of mobile towers on diesel generator sets during grid outages.
“Telecom towers form the backbone of India’s telecom networks and digital public infrastructure, and any disruption in fuel availability could affect network uptime and the continuity of essential digital services,” it said.
DIPA said uninterrupted telecom connectivity is critical for voice and data services, 5G networks, national security operations, emergency and disaster response systems, digital governance platforms, financial transactions, healthcare and telemedicine, and other mission-critical services.
“DIPA has also requested the Department of Telecommunications to take up the matter with the Ministry of Power and advise State utilities and DISCOMs to ensure priority electricity availability for telecom infrastructure and mobile tower sites across the country,” the industry body said. (PTI)