New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India has signed an MoU with Reliance Jio to roll out a telecom-based safety alert system aimed at improving road safety and providing timely warnings to travellers across the national highway network.

The initiative will use Jio’s existing 4G and 5G infrastructure to issue advance alerts to commuters approaching accident-prone stretches, stray-cattle zones, fog-hit corridors and emergency diversions. According to the official statement, these warnings will be delivered through SMS, WhatsApp and high-priority calls, allowing users to adjust their speed and driving behaviour well ahead of time.

The system will be implemented in phases and will be linked to NHAI’s digital ecosystem, including the Rajmargyatra mobile app and the national highways emergency helpline 1033. It will operate automatically for Jio subscribers located on or near national highways and will not require any additional roadside hardware. Jio’s network currently covers more than 500 million users.

NHAI Chairperson Santosh Kumar Yadav said the collaboration marks “an important step forward” in delivering accurate and timely safety information to road users, adding that it will “set a new benchmark in technology-enabled road safety management.” Jyotindra Thacker, President of Reliance Jio, said the system will leverage Jio’s nationwide telecom reach to deliver alerts at scale and support safer highway movement.

A pilot roll-out is planned across select NHAI regional offices to assist in mapping risk zones and fine-tuning alert thresholds. The statement said the initiative will comply with regulatory and data protection requirements. NHAI is also considering future partnerships with other telecom operators as part of its broader plan to adopt scalable, technology-driven solutions for safer and more efficient travel across the country.

BI Bureau