New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS): The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday released recommendations on improving the telecom infrastructure in remote and far-flung districts of Himachal Pradesh.

Considering the poor telecom connectivity situation in some parts of hilly state of Himachal Pradesh and the need for addressing the digital divide in the state, the authority has initiated consultation with relevant stakeholders -- Department of Information Technology (DIT) of the Himachal Pradesh government, state government officials, telecom service providers, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) and local consumer representatives.

To assess the present status of telecom infrastructure gap and to also bridge the extant digital divide in the state, TRAI identified four districts in the state namely Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Kullu and Mandi.

TRAI went on to obtain the current status of available telecom network infrastructure in these districts of Himachal Pradesh from operating TSPs, BBNL, USOF, power transmission companies operating in the state, for gap analysis.

Based on the gap analysis, the authority made its recommendations suggesting improvement in telecom connectivity in various districts of Himachal Pradesh.