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MTNL launches Garuda, doles out New Year sops

In a New Year gift to its subscribers, Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited on Monday launched Garuda, a limited mobility service in Mumbai and also announced an introductory scheme for 100 days from Republic Day on January 26 where it will not charge Internet subscribers for using telephone lines.

Announcing this in Mumbai, Communications and Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan said with the launch of Garuda, subscribers can now pay the cost of a landline and enjoy the pleasures of a roaming telephone in Mumbai city.

Assuring that there was no 'hidden agenda' in the government's recent decision to lower the tariffs of STD services, he informed that international calls rates will also come down by May 2002.

''The reduction of tariffs by more than half was purely a commercial decision and nothing will be hiked to compensate this'', he said.

''I want more and more people to become telephone users. By next year, my ministry proposes to bring 10 million new telephone lines in the country. When the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-led government took over in March 1998, the fixed telephone lines in the country were 15 million and 300,000 cellular users. Now at the end of 2001, there were 40 million fixed telephone users and 5.4 million cellular users'', Mahajan said.

The launch of Garuda, he said was a small but firm step in the direction of adding more than a 10 million new telephone lines in the country, the minister added.

The service will presently cover Mumbai short distance charging area (MTNL area of jurisdiction except Navi Mumbai).

The customers can avail mobility in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Thane Municipal Corporation (tmc) and the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation areas falling under the MTNL's jurisdiction. The limited mobility service for Navi Mumbai will be launched shortly, he added.

The monthly rentals will be Rs 450 and Rs 1.20 paise will be charged for a duration of three minutes. Subscribers will have to pay a security deposit of Rs 5000 if the handset is being taken from MTNL, Mahajan explained.

The registration for limited mobility service for Mumbai will open from January 1 and the service will be commercially operational from January 25, 2002.

Mahajan said that 50,000 lines will be made operational in the first phase and later depending on the response, another 100,000 lines will be added in the second phase. The service will be on first-come-first-serve basis, he added.

Mahajan said that there were still about 35,000 people in Mumbai to whom the MTNL cannot provide telephone service as it is technically not feasible.

''The 20,000 fixed lines from the Garuda service will enable the MTNL to wipe out the backlog'', the minister hoped and expressed confidence that the new service would be a boon to shop keepers, vendors, children, housewives among others.

''The new service will be as good as a mobile service without airtime charges and could also act as a cordless without a base station'', he said.

Referring to the rentals of Rs 450, Mahajan said his ministry had requested the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to reduce the rental tariff.

Garuda is a digital cellular mobile technology offering superior voice quality.

The total cost of the project is approximately Rs 1.50 billion including the network cost and subscribers terminal costs.

Giving details about MTNL's new sops, Mahajan said that Internet users would have to dial 48880000 to avail free access to the net for 100 days.

He further stated that as part of the scheme to have more and more telephone users, MTNL had waived off the installation charges of Rs 800 for new connections in January only.

Mahajan said with the opening up of the Internet telephony on April 1, 2002, rates of international calls would also come down drastically.

He pointed out that Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited will be privatised before March 31, 2002. Bids for divestment will be invited by January end. VSNL has already been permitted to start national long distance service, he added.

Mahajan said slashing of STD rates will not amount to losses, but the government was expected to earn more revenue as the business is likely to go up by 50 to 70 per cent.

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