More facilities for BSNL WLL subscribers in Andaman

Port Blair, Oct 3 (UNI) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) is all set to introduce SMS, voicemail and Internet facility in Wireless Local Loop (WLL) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Chief General Manager(CGM) Telecom Atanu Ghosh told mediapersons here today, ''Instruments procured for the services are being commissioned for which call test is currently underway.'' The new WLL will have added facilities like mobile SMS, voicemail availability and Internet facility from next month, the CGM added.

He also claimed that congestion of mobile phone networks while making calls would be a thing of the past as the department would install the Main Switch Mobile(MSM) in the islands to do away with such problems.

''The call congestion is due to the fact that at present all the calls made first go to Kolkata and they are later routed to Port Blair. Once the main switch is installed here, the calls will be received instantly here itself,'' Mr Ghosh said adding that 80,000 subscribers will benefit from the process of switchover.

Presently, BSNL has 50 towers in Andaman and Nicobar islands which will be expanded to 110 for GSM mobile for greater access even in the remotest pockets in the islands.

Similarly, while the total existing WLL towers is three, it will be raised to 63 for effective connectivity.

Efforts were also on to equip all the Telephone Exchanges with broadband facility so that they could provide broadband connections to the customers from their area of functioning, the CGM added.

UNI