Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) has in the previous financial year provided 18 lakh new mobile connections, taking the total number of mobile customers in Kerala circle to 1.05 crore. In the upcoming financial year, the BSNL plans to provide 24 lakh new mobile connections and 1.8 lakh landline connections. Two lakh broadband connections are also expected this year.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, P.T. Mathew, Chief General Manager, Kerala Circle, said as part of mobile network expansion, 710 towers for 4G network will be added. In addition, 1,050 towers for 3G network and 150 for 2G network will also be added by December.
The BSNL currently maintains 600 WiFi hotspots across the States with 2,100 access points. In addition, 450 other hotspots are operational in rural exchanges. He said 620 more are planned in rural exchanges across the State. As many as 172 hotspots with mobile data offload feature are operational in main tourist locations and government guest houses.
Fibre to home technology capable of providing up to 100 Mbps internet facility to home customers is being planned at all exchanges in the State. The new family broadband plan offers unlimited calls and data in addition to three mobile connections, for ₹1,199. New land line plans have been launched for urban customers with free calls equivalent to fixed monthly charge of ₹240. In the rural areas, two similar plans of ₹180 and ₹220 are available. Installation charges have been waived for all new landline and broadband customers.
The newly launched ₹99 special tariff voucher offers unlimited calls and also includes free roaming facility except in Delhi and Mumbai. With an eye on the large expatriate population, the BSNL has also launched international roaming facility in Saudi Arabia, in association with Zain Telecom.
