The proposal gains significance because the merger plan was given a quiet burial under former telecom minister A Raja.
MTNL's board has given the go-ahead to a voluntary retirement scheme for group C and D employees. It also announced its foray into 'Mobile Commerce', which will help customers to transact business with the help of mobile.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has started talks on synergising operations with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which offers telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai.
If candidates from the private sector are selected, this will be the first time that these telecom PSUs are headed by chiefs from the private sector.
The sharp pullback in mid and smallcap stocks signals a cooling-off period in segments that previously attracted considerable investor interest.
Under Plan A of the new initiative -- One Minute Plan -- the customer will get 500 free calls of one minute duration on monthly rental of Rs 499 and calls beyond free talk time will be charged at 60 paise per minute, the company said.
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.
Even as the ITSA has opposed appointment of MTNL's director finance as the corporation's new CMD alleging that serious complaints against him were pending investigation, Communications Minister Arun Shourie has dismissed the charges.
An apex committee under DoT Secretary R Chandraskehar has been set up to oversee the required policy decisions and institutional framework for an alliance between the two public sector undertakings which have been incurring losses.
The monopoly of state-owned service providers Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd in the public call office business is fast eroding.
In a setback to state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, telecom dispute settlement tribunal TDSAT on Monday refused to grant a stay, through an nterim order, on implementation of the new Access Deficit Charge regime from February 1.
The race for control of Kuwait-headquartered Zain Telecom has quickened with the Indian consortium led by Delhi-based Vavasi group saying it is willing to give a majority stake in the consortium to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd or Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, depending on which company gets government approval to go ahead with the deal.
The government is considering buying back shares of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd from the market as one of the options to pave the way for its merger with Bharat Sanchar Nigam, which is not listed on the bourses.
The department of telecommunications has agreed to set up a search committee to look for new chairmen and managing directors for both, as suggested by the Sam Pitroda-led committee on the organsiation's revamp.
Eyeing overseas acquisition in a big way, the state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd is likely to bid for Rwanda Telecom, which is being put on divestment by the African country.
A merger between state-run telecom firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd is the best option because it would create the country's largest telecom company, said Kuldeep Goyal, chairman and managing director of BSNL.
Other members of the search panel are secretary (personnel) Shantanu Consul, telecom secretary P J Thomas, IIT Chennai professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIM Ahmedabad professor Samir Baruha and IISC Bangalore professor N Balakrishnan.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited broadband users would now be able to make international long distance calls for as low as Re 1 per minute with the launch of a new internet telephony service by the operator in partnership with Aksh Optifibre.
State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd has signed a deal with an Israeli firm and its Indian partner to expand the telecom giant's IPTV services, which will enable TV broadcasts through telephone lines.
Taking head-on the private cellular operators, state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd on Friday announced up to 60 per cent reduction in tariffs for cell-to-cell long distance calls.\n\n\n\n
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.
BSNL will start providing telecom services, both wireless and fixed line, in Mumbai and Delhi on behalf of MTNL from January 1 on a pilot basis for five to six months.
Rs 200-cr burden likely for TV rating agencies.
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.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd has increased pulse duration for its landline to landline local calls in Mumbai.
Until March 2009, MTNL had Rs 11,429.37 crore of reserves and zero debt in its books. In three years a lot changed. At the end of 2011-12, the debt stood at Rs 9,647.49 crore and the reserves had dwindled to Rs 1,906.70 crore, after it paid Rs 11,000 spectrum fee.