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BSNL mobile service in entire country by year-end

The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd plans to start mobile telephone services throughout the country by this year-end, according to its chairman and managing director Dr Devendra P S Seth.

The service would be introduced in two phases and 1.5 million connections would be provided in the first phase, while 2.5 million in the next, he told a press conference.

The tariff for the service would be 'very competitive', he said, adding that it would be decided in five to six months time.

Tenders for procuring the equipment would be made shortly and they would be installed by October. A Project Director had been appointed to carryout the necessary work, Seth said.

Kerala Telecom Circle had been identified as the centre for procuring the equipment and installing the systems for the Southern Region comprising four southern states. Kerala would get 125,000 connections in the first phase and 200,000 in the second.

Seth said BSNL had no plans for introducing VRS for its employees. It required manpower and the process of tuning the present employees to the changing technologies was on.

The Nigam had already absorbed 300,000 employees after the telecom department was corporatised and the remaining 60,000 would be absorbed in due course, he said.

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