[Sportschosun, Jang Jong-ho] In India, residents frustrated with mobile telecommunications services detained a telecommunications company technician and tied him to a mobile communications tower. The residents reportedly had long complained that although they paid for 5G service, they could not even use 4G properly in practice.
According to local media outlets, including The Indian Express, a technician identified as A visited a mobile communications tower in Hardauli village, Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, on the 10th local time to inspect it. A was reportedly a new technician who had been on the job for about three months and had gone to the tower to check the area's network conditions.
However, residents at the site suddenly surrounded him and demanded that he resolve the telecommunications service problems. They claimed that mobile phone and internet connections had long been unreliable and that service quality had not improved even after the tower was installed.
The residents eventually detained A and tied him to the communications tower with cables and other materials. He reportedly remained there for about two hours without being released.
A senior company official reportedly came to the site and said, in effect, that the technician would not be released until the telecommunications problems were resolved.
The residents' dissatisfaction was not simply the result of a temporary service outage.
According to local reports, the residents claimed they had experienced network-quality problems for about two years. They had expected conditions to improve after the tower was installed, but said the actual service fell short of their expectations.
In particular, the residents complained that although they were paying for 5G service, they could actually use only unstable, 4G-level connectivity. They claimed that frequent interruptions to calls and internet connections had caused significant inconvenience in their daily lives.
Some residents reportedly showed their mobile phone screens and filmed the situation to document that 5G service was not being properly provided.
A report was also filed with the police. However, by the time officers arrived at the scene, the residents had released A.
Police identified seven residents believed to have been involved in the incident and arrested six of them on suspicion of unlawful confinement and other charges. The arrested residents were reportedly later released on bail.
The incident has become an example of how far consumer dissatisfaction over network quality can escalate in rural areas of India. Some observers also noted that although telecommunications infrastructure is expanding rapidly, frustration can erupt when the service quality experienced by users fails to keep pace.
However, the residents' claim that they received 4G-level service despite paying for 5G was based on their statements, and the telecommunications company has not officially acknowledged it.
Jang Jong-ho, Reporter
bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
