Mumbai Metro’s Aqua Line mobile infra bid sees Airtel, Vi back RJio.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have backed Reliance Jio’s application requesting the Mumbai Metro to grant immediate rights to operate an indoor mobile network, aimed at restoring cellular services on the city’s first underground metro line, the Aqua Line.

In a joint letter, the three telecom operators urged Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) to allow telecom service providers to either install a new IBS network or use the existing one to prevent service delays.

The move follows the termination of the previous contract between MMRCL and third-party service provider ACES, after which the metro authority issued a fresh tender for the deployment of the IBS network along the Aqua Line.