The 3G mobile services of BSNL will be launched here on Wednesday, as part of the Nigam’s efforts to take its mobile services in the State to the next level.
Addressing a press conference here, BSNL Alappuzha Telecom General Manager T. Natarajan said K.C. Venugopal, MP, would formally launch the services at 11 a.m. at the Carmel Hall here. A.A. Shukoor, MLA, would preside over the function, which would also be attended by P. Venugopal, District Collector, A. Akbar, District Superintendent of Police, P.P. Chitharanjan, Municipal Chairman, and Amit Mishra and Vinod P. Abraham, general managers of BSNL.
A BSNL Mela would also be held at the Carmel Hall after the function as part of the 3G launching ceremony, Mr. Natarajan said.
Initially, the 3G facility, which enhances services including multimedia and high speed mobile broadband internet access with the ability to view video footage on the mobile itself, will be available only in the limits of the Alappuzha municipal area. It would be extended to Mavelikara, Kayamkulam, Cherthala and Aroor by the end of this month, while the other parts of the district would get the facility in a phased manner.
Mr. Natarajan said a Broadband Week would be conducted during the third week of every month, during which customers could register their applications in any of the 92 exchanges or 18 customer service centres in the district. The Alappuzha Telecom district of the BSNL was also planning to deploy Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) equipment shortly, he said.
As for the 3G services, existing BSNL 2G SIM card holders could upgrade to 3G services without a number change. The user would require a 3G supporting handset and subscription to 3G services to use mobile broadband on the handset. 3G data cards would also be available to access the high speed network on computers, Mr. Natarajan added.
