The Fixed Mobile Telephony service, to be operational from April 2, will however attract monthly charge.
Even as the BSNL's call charges between metros and circles have been reduced for basic-to-basic, cell and unified access operators with inter-service area connectivity, the PSU has realigned pulse durations for various category calls within and outsi
State-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) says it expects to increase its visibility in the domestic and international markets, besides improving company performance, as a fallout of the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of equity.
BSNL is taking various initiatives to improve its services and add more customers.
Within hours of going on indefinite strike, the employee unions of BSNL on Tuesday called off the protest after the government assured that the issue of disinvestment in the telecom PSU will be referred to a Group of Ministers.
About 10,000 engineers of state-run telecom firm BSNL in the country started an indefinite strike from Tuesday, demanding absorption of officers on deputation at the PSU and transparent human resource policy.
There were reports of a mobile tower being impacted a few months ago in coastal area of Andhra Pradesh that was attributed to hacking by the company's engineers.
DoT is even considering measures to urge private telecom operators to bring down their dependence on Chinese-made telecom equipment.
BSNL, which was formed in 2000, was in the pink of financial health but lost to competition because of inadequate investment in infrastructure expansion that ought to have been provided during past few years, he told Rajya Sabha.
The submission was made before additional sessions judge Hardeep Kaur, who extended the judicial custody of all the six accused till March 1.
BSNL has just launched a closed user group plan for Other Backward classes (OBCs) in Maharashtra. It has tied up with the Satyashodhak OBC Parishad, a non-political organisation, for a prepaid talk time plan at nominal charges.
Losses, incurred in the past two years, have to be minimised, he says.
BSNL has launched location based services, including caller tracking facility, in North East India.
State run telecommunications giant, BSNL will set up call centres across the country to expeditiously address grievances of its consumers, Minister of State for IT and Telecom Sachin Pilot said.
Telecom services across the country are expected to be hit following Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited employees' indefinite strike from Wednesday, demanding immediate placement of equipment orders for expansion of its mobile network.
The government's plan to list state-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd will be delayed due to the company's mounting losses and high payout for 3G spectrum.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) may be back on track with its plans for an initial public offer (IPO). The public sector enterprise has placed a proposal for approval of the IPO to its trade union and it expects a positive response by June 3.
At the moment, data and broadband is small for BSNL: it contributes 10 per cent of the company's revenue, though its share is on the rise.
In a setback to state-owned BSNL, the Delhi High Court on Thursday restrained the PSU from awarding any contract for their GSM network expansion till the next date of hearing on November 16.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and BSNL officials for allegedly allotting 300 high-speed telephone lines to Maran's residence in Chennai which were extended to his brother's channel.
The government on Monday rapped state-owned BSNL for poor financial performance and made a case for disinvestment in the telecom PSU through an initial public offer.
BSNL can go ahead with its over Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) GSM expansion plan as Motorola withdraws its application challenging the former's tender process in the Delhi High Court.
Stocks of public sector undertakings (PSUs) have been on fire in the past year as investors cheered an improvement in key operating metrics and embraced counters of these state-owned enterprises, analysts suggest. The S&P BSE PSU Index has gained over 90 per cent in the past year, rising much higher than the S&P BSE Sensex, which has rose nearly 19 per cent during this period, according to ACE Equity data. The BSE PSU Index, reports show, has delivered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 per cent (including dividends reinvestments) over five years and risen by almost 60 per cent in the past year.
The government plans to consider the issue of merger between BSNL and MTNL on the basis of suggestions made by a financial consultant appointed by the centre, chairman and managing director of BSNL A K Sinha said.
State-run BSNL has stepped up efforts to grab a bigger share of rising broadband demand in the country with the PSU planning to provide fibre-to-home based broadband services for offering next generation services to its subscribers.
The much-talked merger of the two state-owned telecom giants -- Mahanagar Telecom Nigam and Bharat Sanchar Nigam -- is understood to have been put on hold
Union Minister of State for Communication Sachin Pilot on Thursday said that efforts are on to increase the teledensity in the country to 40 per cent by 2014.
The company had over 1.66 crore (16.6 million) landlines in February.
TTSL is now behind only Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone, the company said in a statement.
The service will cover areas where no network is available and will be provided by INMARSAT, which has 14 satellites.
The government on Thursday said it has not taken any decision so far regarding the merger of telecom public sector undertakings BSNL and MTNL.
Private cellular operators have locked horns with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd over sharing of the revenue earned from roaming subscribers within the country as well as those coming from abroad.
The company is seeking consultants for mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, acquiring telecom licences outside India, a senior BSNL official said. BSNL, with a view to establishing itself as a global player in the telecom sector and to achieve inorganic growth, is aiming at expanding its area of operations, the official said.
Local and national SMS tariff has also been reduced by 75%
To revive the two state-run telecom operators, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), the government is likely to waive the one-time fee these telcos need to pay for retaining additional spectrum.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited may stand to lose two of its exclusive mobile service offerings -- seamless connectivity and free roaming with BSNL -- if it moves to other private players for carrying its STD traffic, saving a few billions.
BSNL also launched a pre-paid card with lifetime validity for Rs 949 which includes preloaded talk time of Rs 99.
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