During financial year 2011-12, MTNL was able to use only 14.66 per cent of the Budget estimate, while BSNL reported a better performance, according to a report by the standing committee on information technology.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has started talks on synergising operations with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which offers telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai.
State-run telecom operator BSNL on Tuesday said it expects to close the fiscal with 10 lakh 3G users from seven lakh at present.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd on Friday said the concept of 'One India', entailing single tariff for local and STD calls, was welcome from the consumers' point of view but its impact on companies' finances would have to be assessed.
The two PSUs have been losing revenues as well as market share.
BSNL has been among the top three net losers in terms of subscribers. MTNL, which operates in only the Delhi and Mumbai circles, has lost, too.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the two big state-controlled telecom companies, have written to the government asking that it bear the entire cost of the additional spectrum assigned to the two giants.
In a move to woo foreign visitors to its network, the state-owned telecom behemoth Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has decided to reduce the charges on in-roaming -- international mobile phone users roaming in India -- by 35-40 per cent.
State-owned BSNL will launch high-speed wireless Internet service based on Wi-Fi and Wi-Max technologies in the next nine months and will shortly float a Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) tender for equipment.
The government on Thursday broached plans for the public listing of telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd with its workers, but neither the proposal nor an offer of ESOPs found any takers.
The public sector firm has launched STVs in the range for Rs 23 to Rs 41 for prepaid customers whereas postpaid users have to pay a fixed monthly charge of Rs 20 to Rs 40 to avail the cheaper rates.
Upon discovery of the price for 3G and Broadband Wireless Access spectrum, BSNL and MTNL recently paid Rs 18,500.38 crore (Rs 185 billion) and Rs 11,097.97 crore (Rs 110.97 billion), respectively, to the government.
Fifteen employees' unions of state-run telecom behemoth BSNL on Wednesday threatened to go on agitation against the Sam Pitroda panel's recommendations for the company's listing, massive voluntary retirement scheme and scrapping of its Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion) expansion plans.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd on Wednesday said it would start international long distance services in February next year, for which it is likely to use Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd's infrastructure.
State-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has written to the defence ministry to amend the conditions for floating tenders, including having own manufacturing facility in India, for setting up alternative communications network for defence forces."We have written to the defence ministry for change in tender conditions as some companies have said that the current conditions are very strict," said a senior BSNL official.
The state-run BSNL on Friday set the ball rolling for 3G mobile services as the telecom major launched the next generation mobile services in 11 cities and announced a rate of Re 1 per minute for video call in the Rs 2,500-plan.
But BSNL operates in the dynamic telecom sector with high growth rates. BSNL's problems have more to do with management and interference from the DoT.
Communications Minister A Raja has raised objections.
India's largest telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd announced on Thursday a reduction in monthly free calls for landline telephone subscribers but did not increase the overall monthly telephone rentals for urban and rural subscribers.\n\n\n\n
To support its huge expansion plans, BSNL might have to resort to an initial public offer (IPO) in three years' time. The public sector telecom service provider will require around Rs 60,000 crore (Rs by 2010 to fund the expansions.
Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal Monday permitted Bharat Sanchar Nigan Ltd and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd to go for downward revision of tariff of their cellular services without referring the proposals to Trai.
State-owned Bharat Snachar Nigam has bagged about 80 per cent of the Department of Telecom's Rs 2,500 crore
He says he's now confident of arresting its decline through various measures, including renewed focus on landline and mobile services, sorting out procurement problems and outsourcing unutilised space and tower management.
Close on the heels of mobile operators slashing their STD rates, State- owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam is giving final touches to its mobile and fixed phone STD rates that is expected to match private cellular companies.
State-run BSNL Friday said it may directly talk to Zain Telecom to acquire a controlling stake after the exclusive talks period between the consortium Vavasi and the Kuwaiti firm ends.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd on Tuesday announced a partial roll-back in telephone tariffs by increasing the number of free calls per month.
Oil explorer ONGC again emerged as the highest profit-making PSU of the country during 2012-13 while telecom major BSNL turned out to be the biggest loss-making enterprise, says the Economic Survey.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam has challenged a massive reduction in fee paid to it by private operators, saying its rural operations would be severely hit as a result.\n\n
BSNL is aggressively working towards sharing its passive as well as active infrastructure with existing and new telecom operators. It said the Master Sharing Agreement for sharing BSNL towers is in the final stages with some telecom operators and is likely to be finalised soon. In addition, BSNL has also decided to hire infrastructure from various infrastructure providers to speed up its roll out for mobile network in different states.
BSNL also reduced monthly rentals from Rs 225 to 180 besides doubling the free calls to 50 calls a month.
All the integrated private telecom operators like Bharti, Reliance are targeting high as well as mass market broadband subscribers to shore up their non-telephony revenues. BSNL operates all over the country, except in Delhi and Mumbai.
Public sector telecom majors Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd on Friday launched broadband Internet services in over 200 cities across the country, fixing a highly competitive Rs 500 per month tariff for home users.
BSNL had disconnected the point of interconnection of Reliance Communications on May 23 and May 31 in Haryana and on May 4 in Punjab claiming non-payment of pending dues by the private telco.
Now any customer can make audio video calls at will on any landline, mobile or Internet Protocol phone anywhere in the world, provided that both the ends have requisite video phone equipment.
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