The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : BSNL to roll out next generation mobile telephony by March 2009

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Saturday, Oct 04, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

BSNL to roll out next generation mobile telephony by March 2009

Special Correspondent

It will soon place purchase orders for 1.5 lakh 3G lines

— Photo: R. Ravindran

LAUDING THEIR GOOD WORK: Awardees of BSNL ‘Vishisht Sanchar Seva Padak-2008’ with Chief General Manager Chennai Telephones M.P. Velusamy; Chief General Manager Southern Telecom Projects P.R. Ananthan; Member (Technology) Telecom Commission, New Delhi, K. Sridhara; Chief General Manager Southern Telecom Region S. Raghavan and Principal General Manager (Development) Tamil Nadu Telecom Circle D. Varadarajan in Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: BSNL Chennai Telephones will soon place orders for 1.5 lakh 3G lines as it prepares to roll out next generation mobile telephony of high-speed data, video and voice transmission by March 2009.

In the initial phase of a massive GSM expansion, 3G will be available to CellOne subscribers in Chennai and a few towns in the Chengalpattu area, according to development goals laid out during the presentation ceremony of the ‘Vishisht Sanchar Seva Padak Awards 2008’ here on Friday.

The total number of 2G and 3G lines slated to be commissioned during the next financial year is over 6 lakh. The logistics for implementing this ambitious target will involve erecting 1,000 more 2G and 3G towers, which will mostly be co-located. For augmenting the 2G network by another 2 lakh lines, Chennai Telephones plans to lay out 223 additional towers.

When the infrastructure is put in place, inter-distance between any two towers of the BSNL network will be 300 meteres in Chennai and about 3 km in rural areas. Wi-MAX technology, which will usher in broadband wireless access, is also high on the agenda of Chennai Telephones. Indications are that the facility will be available in the city in the next financial year. The BSNL corporate office in Delhi has already called for expression of interest to give final shape to the partnering franchisees.

Presenting the awards for meritorious service to staff in southern telecom region, southern telecom projects, Tamil Nadu circles and Chennai Circle, K. Sridhara, Member (Technology), Telecom Commission, sought a change in the mindset that management and unions were different entities. The leadership of administration and unions should complement each other in evolving innovative ideas and seizing opportunities from a challenging situation.

Mr. Sridhara lauded the dedicated efforts of employees in putting BSNL in the forefront of the telecom revolution.

M.P. Velusamy, Chief General Manager, Chennai Telephones, said the city’s tele-density of 97 per cent, involving 10 lakh mobile and 10 lakh fixed lines, was the highest in the country, a feat made possible by sincere efforts of the employees.

He said in the last three years, broadband growth was phenomenal with over 2 lakh connections issued. He reiterated BSNL’s commitment to introduce 3G in Chennai in the first quarter of 2009. The launch of IPTV was also scheduled shortly in the city.

D. Varadarajan, principal general manager Tamil Nadu Telecom Circle, said BSNL had to constantly expand its bouquet of multifarious services to stay ahead of the competition.

P.R. Ananthan, Chief General Manager, Southern Telecom Projects, stressed the importance of sustaining quality of services and customer care alongside the proposed rollout of technologies such as IPTV and WiMAX coupled with CDR-based billing.

S. Raghavan, Chief General Manager (maintenance), Southern Telecom Region, said the infrastructure involving 60,000 km of optic fibre cable across south India and 10 lakh capacity circuitry helped maintain interconnection among the 85 trunk automatic exchanges.

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