Valued-added services for BSNL broadband customers

Gulbarga, Mar 5: Public sector BSNL is planning to provide video, cable TV and other value-added services for its broadband connections soon, BSNL District General Manager V Srinivasan said today.

Addressing a press conference here, he said BSNL would soon provide 2 MBPS broadband connectivity.

Mr Srinivasan said BSNL would come out with pro-rural customer schemes, including landline connections without deposit of Rs 1,000 and installation charge of Rs 500 to improve the dwindling landline customer base due to insufficent service.

''Though BSNL has the capacity to provide 40,000 to 50,000 landline connections, we have only 20,000 to 25,000 connections. We have lost about 10,000 landline customers and are trying to regain them,'' he said, attributing the poor service and frequent faults to those who dig up roads indiscriminately severing cable connections.

Mr Srinivasan said the department was planning to reduce the fault rate from the present seven per cent to five per cent to regain the confidence of customers.

He said the BSNL would erect 15 additional Base Transmission Stations in the district in the next three months to increase its capacity by over 100 per cent. Besides, it would erect 38 additional towers, taking the total number of mobile towers to 100 in the district, to improve the coverage for the existing 47,000 mobile customers.

Stating that BSNL mobile connections in the State was expected to go up from the existing 16 lakh connections to 17-18 lakh by the month-end, the official said a 20 second pulse rate would be introduced in public call offices from March 15 in the city.

UNI