Department of Telecommunications Activates Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) in Affected Districts of Nagaland, Gujarat, UT of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu amid Heavy Rainfall[...]

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure the continuity of essential communication services across disaster-affected regions in Nagaland, Gujarat and the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. Continuous heavy rainfall, landslides, flash floods, and severe inundation have caused extensive damage to critical telecom infrastructure, leading to large-scale network outages and disrupted transmission routes in these areas.

To mitigate communication breakdowns during rescue and relief operations, DoT has invoked emergency response mechanisms under the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)-2020 for Telecom Services in Response to Disasters and the Unified Licence provisions:

• Nagaland (Longleng District): Following incessant rainfall, landslides, and multiple Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) cuts, Longleng becomes the second district in Nagaland after Mon to have ICR activated. Directions have been issued to activate ICR immediately upto 23:59 hrs of 27th July, 2026 or till further instructions, whichever is earlier.
• Valsad district of Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli district and Daman district of UT: Severe flooding has caused major node outages across Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman, and adjoining Valsad district. DoT has authorized immediate activation of ICR Immediately upto 23:59 hrs of 27th July, 2026 or till further instructions, whichever is earlier.

The activation of ICR enables mobile subscribers of any provider as well as visiting in-roamers to seamlessly access any available network in locations where their home network is temporarily offline. This ensures optimal utilization of surviving telecom infrastructure and maintains vital connectivity for affected residents, emergency responders, healthcare personnel, and disaster management agencies.

The Department of Telecommunications is continuously monitoring network status through its field units and working with all service providers to expedite full restoration of communication networks in the affected districts.

What is ICR & how to use it:

Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) is a telecom arrangement where a mobile subscriber connects to another operator's network within the same telecom circle (region). This allows users to access mobile services even if their own operator has no coverage in that specific area. It plays a critical role during natural disasters when mobile infrastructure is damaged.

During the time of disaster, if mobile infrastructure is damaged in a region, DoT issues instructions to Telecom Service Operators to implement ICR.

To ensure ICR works:

• Keep "Automatic Network Selection" enabled in your phone settings.
• If automatic connection fails;
  • Go to Settings>Mobile Networks>Network Operators
  • Manually select another available network

*****

NJ/AR