Mobile service companies sharing their infrastructure will also have to disguise the towers in future — as, say, palm trees — to improve the skyline. In addition, sharing infrastructure will improve the quality of services, particularly in ‘dark spots’ where connectivity in the metros is not available at all.

‘‘Dark spots and zones with call drops and congestion are to be tackled first with the common infrastructure. We are also concerned about the skyline in metros, and the operators must camoflauge towers suitably with professional help,’’ the Minister said. ‘‘There will be some controls to address security concerns, and some areas may never be opened up for operators...government buildings can be allowed on a joint basis after security clearance,’’ he said.

Delhi and Mumbai are to be a showcase for how the rest of the country will organise its metro area infrastructure sharing. To launch the process, a working group headed by a Joint Secretary in the DoT is to be set up within a week or two and results, it is promised, will be apparent in four or five weeks.

This group will also ensure that telecom towers set up in future in the metros will have technology combiners that permit CDMA and GSM operators to set up the same towers to provide connections.