BSNL to offer 3G service in June in Chennai
By IANSWednesday, March 11, 2009
CHENNAI - The state-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is setting up the 3G telecom infrastructure here to offer the service by June, a top official said Wednesday.
‘We are in the process of installing the 600 base transmitting stations (BTS) for the 3G service. Till now we have installed 25 BTS,’ M.P. Velusamy, BSNL chief general manager, told reporters here.
Simply put, the 3G service enables the users to see the speaker at the other end and also browse the Internet at high speed.
BSNL will offer the service in the city first and then roll it out in other parts of the country.
In addition, BSNL is also installing 400 BTS in the city for its existing services.
‘The total project cost is Rs.2.5 billion,’ the official said.
BSNL enjoys a net accretion of 5,000 new landline connections in the city at a time when wired connections are being surrendered by the company’s subscribers elsewhere in the country, he said.
‘We add 30,000 subscribers and lose 25,000 every month. Unlike in other parts of the country, there is a positive accretion to our subscriber base,’ Velusamy said.
He said the company has a million mobile/landline connections and 280,000 broadband connections in the city.
Asked about the complaint that BSNL subscribers often do not receive the signal in their homes, he said: ‘Several high-rise structures block the signals sent out by our BTS. To overcome that we offer indoor signal solutions that would enhance the signal reception.’
Meanwhile, BSNL has signed an agreement to offer total telecom solution for the occupants of the Rs.25 billion (Rs.2,500 crore) integrated township Estancia being developed by L&T Arun Excello Private Ltd near here.
‘We have signed around 100 such agreements with real estate developers so that they can offer a telecom-ready building to their customers,’ he added.
L&T Arun Excello will construct and offer BSNL 2,500 sq.ft building for running a telephone exchange on annual lease rent of Re.1. For the telecom giant it is a winning deal as the township project has 1,900 residential apartments, an IT special economic zone (SEZ), hotel, mall and other facilities.
‘We will recover our investment of Rs.60 million in a year’s time,’ said Velusamy.
