BSNL plans to double revenue by 2010

Tiruchirapalli, May 4 (UNI) The Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has ambitious plans to double its gross revenue to the tune of Rs 90,000 crore by 2010 by way of expanding its various activities, says BSNL Chairman and MD A K Sinha.

Addressing the BSNL officials here this evening Mr Sinha said the gross revenue of the PSU which was just Rs 22,000 crore in the year 2000-2001 has now crossed more than Rs 40,000 crore.

Stating that BSNL would be launching an innovative 'Internet Protocol Television Service' in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkatta soon, he said it was the decision taken after the successful launch in Pune city recently.

BSNL had already prepared its road map to provide 122 million GSM connections and 22 million broadband connections in the next three to four years, he added.

Later, inaugurating 'ROTACOM 2007', a three-day unique mobile telecom and IT fair, organised by Rotary Club of Tiruchirapalli Fort, Mr Sinha said the growth of mobile service in India was unparallel and unprecedented in the history of the telecom sector.

Having reached mobile subscriber base of about 160 million, India had joined the elite club of countries having more than 100 million cellular subscribers, he added.

Stating that Wireless technologies were going to play a predominant role in the expansion of telecom network in the country, he said cost parameters were very crucial for the success of any technology and it needed to be looked at from customer's perspective. The most important factor in determining the deployment of technology was that it should be able to offer relevant services in a simple way at affordable price.

He said the next big push for mobile growth would come from expeditious introduction of 3G services.

Mr Sinha said BSNL would plan to extend the mobile coverage to villages having population of 1,000 or more in a phased manner. For broadband connectivity in rural areas, the company would be deploying both wire line as well as wireless transmission media, he added.

UNI