Sixth Pay Commission has urged the government that all Indian Telecom Service (Group A) officers be absorbed in the public sector telecom service providers, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd & Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd, or sent to the surplus pool. It has also suggested winding up of the Telecom Commission saying BSNL and MTNL now provide extensive services along with several private sector operators. The report states there is no need to retain the 2400 cadre strong-ITS (Group A).
Telecom services across the country could suffer, with the Department of Telecom ready to recall over 2,200 of its officers on deputation in MTNL and BSNL.
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd is opting for new business models including Internet Protocol based Virtual Private Network, Microprotocol Label Switching services.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd on Tuesday cut STD rates to lower the mobile-to-mobile call charges from a peak of Rs 9 a minute to Rs 4.80 a minute.
Call blocking is one facility that telecom service providers claim is only for the chosen few, for instance the celebrities. Not withstanding its niche appeal, service providers in the country are in various stages of implementing the technology.
The Zain deal raises much speculation about Arifuddin's money and clout. Who is backing him? What is his relationship with politicians? Is he merely a front man for big players in telecom?
Preliminary work on submitting proposals for offloading government equity in 12 PSUs, including BSNL and MTNL, has begun.
Taking a cue from Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, which had earlier reduced bandwidth prices
Long-distance tariffs will crash from Tuesday with TRAI reducing the access deficit charge given to telecom operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd by up to 62 per cent.
Minister of State for Communication Shakeel Ahmad said that the exact modalities for effecting it would take some time because of the complexities involved.
Telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL will launch their broadband services throughout the country on 15th of January 2005 at Rs 500 per month.
In the first ever indication of a possible merger of two public sector telecom companies, MTNL and BSNL, the government on Thursday said it was appointing advisors for synergising their operations.
Motorola also said it will consider manufacturing in India to comply with the eligibility criteria of deals with state-run carriers.
BSNL, MTNL also reduce local call rates to Re 1 for a 3-minute call. But this comes with an increase in rental of Rs 49 to Rs 299 per month from the existing Rs 250.
Indian Internet Service Providers are upbeat about Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) as a solution for the country's last-mile connectivity problems.
State-owned BSNL would be the biggest gainer followed by MTNL if the government changes the inter-connect usage charges, based on TRAI's consultation paper, according to a recent report by equity research firm J M Morgan Stanley.
The central government has no plans of divesting stakes in public sector telecom firms - BSNL and MTNL - as the two were performing well in the competitive telecom sector.
The Union government has asked Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd to explore opportunities that would enable the company to expand its presence and improve financial conditions.\n\n\n\n
Public sector telecom firms are gearing up to focus on customer care to match their private sector rivals with the Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd inviting tenders for running helpdesk for its internet and broadband services in Delhi and Mumbai.
Telecom services, cell-to-fixed line phones and vice versa remained crippled for the second day on Saturday even as cell operators shot off letters to telecom regulator and state-owned MTNL.
The PSU announced a plan that will offer customers high speed (2 mbps) Internet access at a monthly rental of Rs 99 and 150 mb free download. Alternately, users can opt for a monthly rental scheme of Rs 149 with free download of 400 mb.
After Mauritius and Kenya, Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd is exploring overseas markets like Benin and Oman to expand its operations.
State-run Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd has received the national long distance license from the government, a development that has the potential to start a fresh bout of cuts in STD rates.
Close on the heels of cellular operators announcing the launch of one-paisa-per-second billing scheme for all local/STD calls, roaming services and SMS, MTNL has slashed mobile tariffs to half-a-paisa per second on home network.
MTNL has slashed STD tariffs for subscribers in Delhi and Mumbai who will charged at a flat tariff of Rs 1.90 a minute.
The Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd, under its customer-friendly initiatives, has reduced installation charges for new telephone connections to Rs 500 from the present Rs 800, effective April 1.
Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd is extending its lifetime validity cards to post-paid mobile segment, under which users have to pay Rs 800 as one-time charge for rent-free connection lifelong and 80 paise a minute for local calls.
MTNL cellular tariff to be 80 paise a minute for post-paid users within its own network and Rs 1.20 to other cellular phones with a monthly rental of only Rs 100.
State-owned Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd has launched three additional basic plans for its Intregated Subscriber Digital Network or ISDN customers effective January 1.
In a major incentive to the consumers, state-run Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd on Thursday indicated lowering of broadband tariffs by 50 per cent to Rs 199 per month from Rs 399.
The Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd will get a tax refund of Rs 264 crore (Rs 2.64 billion) from the Income-Tax Department.
Of the total proposed allocation, over Rs 1 lakh crore is meant for BSNL and MTNL-related expenses, including Rs 82,916 crore infusion in BSNL for technology upgradation and restructuring at BSNL.
With a major network rollout on the cards, the government is not keen to change the pattern of tower monetisation for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), officials at the state-owned telecom-service provider said. The monetisation target in the telecom sector had to be revised owing to a change in BSNL's approach to mobile-phone tower monetisation, which had shifted from a sale-based model to a lease-based one.
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