A Central Executive Committee meeting of the BSNL Employees Union (BSNLEU), held online recently expressed deep anguish over the delay being caused in the launching of BSNL’s 4G service.
The meeting called on the unions and associations of BSNL to compel the Central government, for the removal of the road-blocks in launching the 4G service.
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Call to unite unions
It also called upon the Central Headquarters of BSNLEU to take immediate steps to unite all the unions and associations for organising a campaign programme among the employees and among the general public, in the months of September and October, which should culminate in a strike action thereafter.
In a press release, the BSNLEU said that the BSNL is already lagging 4 years behind the private operators, so far as 4G technology is concerned. BSNL’s revival is unimaginable without the launching of its 4G service.
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Domestic vendors
The government has cancelled the tender floated by BSNL for procuring 4G equipment demanding that it be made favourable to domestic vendors, even though there is no domestic vendor manufacturing 4G equipment.
BSNLEU said that the union strongly believed that a conspiracy had been hatched to deny 4G equipment to BSNL and thereby to sabotage its revival.
In the month of April, both Airtel and Vodafone Idea have lost 47 lakh customers each, while in the same month, BSNL has added 2 lakh new customers. This clearly tells who is the real challenger to Reliance Jio, it alleged.
BSNLEU alleged that the cancellation of BSNL’s 4G tender is only to clip its wings, so that the telecom PSU does not offer stiff competition to Reliance Jio.
This can be construed as a part of the government’s overall strategy of aiding Reliance Jio to monopolise the telecom sector, it alleged.