Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited operations are unaffected by the frequent power cuts during the Samaikyandhra agitation, but it has already incurred a substantial expenditure on keeping the telephone exchanges and cell towers functional with the help of generators.
The diesel bill on that count has almost doubled and it will continue to be on the higher side as long as the electricity employees do not completely call off their strike. There has been no major problem in rendering customer services as the BSNL has two generators each powering 11 Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) sites and every telephone exchange, base transceiver stations, known in technological parlance as ‘BTS towers’ and 3G site has one generator each.
Minor problems in the rural areas are being solved without much delay as the BSNL employees have so far confined themselves to token protests against bifurcation of the State. The landline, mobile and data (Broadband) services are delivered almost without any hitch.
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The streamlining of these services has doubled the diesel bill, which is yet to be summed up, Assistant General Manager (Sales & Marketing) A. Koteswara Rao told
He said that all the BSNL sites had enough power back-up in the form of generators and batteries, due to which power cuts had spared it of any major trouble.
A substantial amount has to be spent on keeping the 11 SDCA sites, 184 telephone exchanges, 310 BTS and 51 Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) towers and 68 3G cell sites most of which are situated in Vijayawada city, in a working condition with adequate power.
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The district has about 31,000 Broadband, 6.75 lakh mobile (both pre and post-paid) and 1.75 lakh landline connections. A majority of the Broadband connections are in Vijayawada city. For the time being, the BSNL has a smooth going so far as the power scenario is concerned, Mr. Koteswara Rao added.