The BSNL promotional campaign has resulted in 20,000 subscriptions being added in the telecom district area in last one month, which is a shot in the arm for the public sector telecom service provider, BSNL Visakhapatnam District Senior General Manager Nalini Verma said.
Notwithstanding stiff competition from private players, the BSNL is doing well in Visakhapatnam Telecom District with 7.5 lakh mobile connections, 96,000 landline connections and 45,000 Broad Band connections, she told The Hindu here on Tuesday.
“We have plans to add 70 new wi-fi hot spots in the district to the existing 12 hotspots in the city. Discussions are on with vendors in this regard. BSNL is also planning to provide wi-fi services at 15 Tribal Schools in the district in coordination with the government. We (BSNL) is the only mobile service provider offering 3 G services at Chintapalli in the Agency area of the district in addition to 3 G services at Paderu and Araku,” the SGM Telecom said.
Recent feature
The recent feature of the BSNL – call forwarding facility from BSNL mobile to landline – has received good response from customers. Subscribers can activate this facility at home or at their office to answer the calls on their mobile phone, without any apprehensions of the voice going feeble or not catching the ring tone.
The free night calling from BSNL landline and ‘free roaming’ on BSNL mobiles are a big draw for BSNL customers, the SGM said. BSNL landline users can call from their fixed phone to any mobile network or BSNL landline anywhere in India between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
This facility has helped BSNL in stabilising its landline base. The free roaming facility has drawn more mobile users to BSNL.
On complaints of inability to provide Broad Band and landline facility in some areas of the city, Ms. Nalini Verma attributed it to cable problems. “The replacement of cables is turning out to be a stupendous task due to frequent digging of the roads and construction of drains by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC)”. “There is no shortage of equipment for provision of FTTH but complying with the minimum required number of connections in any particular area is mandatory in view of the high cost factor of FTTH”.
On the complaints of call drops and lack of mobile connectivity in some areas, she said 35 more cell towers would be erected in the district soon to address the problem.
We have plans to add 70 new wi-fi hot spots in the district.
Nalini Verma
BSNL Senior General Manager
