While private mobile phone operators are still awaiting auction of spectrum for advanced 3G services, the State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has already bagged over 8-lakh subscribers within a year of its launch.
The company now plans to bring all major cities and towns under its 3G network. “In less than one year our 3G service has been rolled out in 318 cities with 8.56-lakh subscribers. In the first phase that ends in March this year, we plan to cover 400 cities, while 760 cities will be covered for advanced mobile services by September this year,” said a senior BSNL official here.
Stating that all major cities and towns would be covered by this year-end, he said BSNL tested its premium 3G service in Chennai on February 22 last year while commercial launch of the service happened five days after it covering 11 cities in North Zone and East Zone. The service has since been launched in South Zone also.
BSNL’s current mobile customer base totals over 6-crore, and during the past two months the average monthly addition has been 20-lakh subscribers.
