Struggling to stay connected

 BSNL, market leader till about a decade ago, has been hit by inadequate investments, inefficiencies and a lack of strategic vision. Thomas K Thomas and Nandana James report

BSNL orders officers to fly economy class to cut costs

New Delhi: In a move to cut costs further amid financial difficulties, state-run telecom major BSNL has asked all its officers to fly by economy class on both domestic and international air travel, according to an office order.

BSNL launches another long-term plan with 345 days validity at great price but you may not like it

BSNL has been on a launch spree when it comes to prepaid plans with varying validity. The operator, despite going through challenging financial situations, is coming up with aggressive plans to draw more customers to its network. That, along with the upcoming 4G network, is expected to make things work in BSNL's favour. Keeping in line with the trend, BSNL has launched another long-term plan for its prepaid subscribers in the Andhra Pradesh and Telengana circle.

BSNL, MTNL continue to be prominent telecom players: Shamrao Dhotre

NEW DELHI: State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) would continue to be prominent players in the telecom sector, but they have to demonstrate proficiency in their operations, Minister of State for Telecommunications, IT and HRD Sanjay Shmarao Dhotre said.

BSNL loses Arunachal, Assam mobile network tender as DoT to invite fresh bids

New Delhi: Ailing telecom firm BSNL has lost the mandate for rolling out mobile service project in Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam on recommendation made by an inter-ministerial panel headed by Niti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant.
The project was funded through Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) -- which was formed by the Centre to help fund projects in rural areas -- with an outlay of ₹1,460 crore.

Inside BSNL's plan to reclaim lost market in mobile, landline and broadband

State-run telecom firm BSNL Chairman P.K. Purwar has set sales targets for the company's various business verticals - fixed line, enterprise businesses, Fibre-to-Home and consumer mobility or wireless - to be achieved by the telecom circles in the current fiscal.

BSNL won’t survive without Narendra Modi's intervention: Officers' group chief

NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) officers’ group has warned that things may go out of hand, and the state-controlled telco would not survive for long unless the Prime Minister Office (PMO) takes a decision on telco’s revival and facilitates a soft loan for capital as well as operational expenses.

BSNL employees to challenge reduction in retirement age to 58

Even as Group of ministers (GoM) is working on a revival proposal for BSNL/MTNL, any move to reduce the retirement age to 58 is set to face opposition from the employees, who are set to legally challenge every decision in this regard.
According to sources, the GoM, headed by home minister Amit Shah, is deliberating on an option to reduce the retirement age to 58 years from the current 60, which will make BSNL lighter by 30,000 employees. However, the option will be strongly opposed by the staff, who feel that the government is duty-bound to honour the current retirement age.

BSNL, MTNL revival: Government faces costly options

A group of ministers led by home minister Amit Shah is understood to have met on Tuesday to explore ways to revive sick telecom PSUs —BSNL and MTNL —; a task which seems herculean with every passing day. Since the days of the government garnering high revenues through spectrum auctions are over, the choices before it are limited and also costly.

BSNL launches unlimited calling plan at Rs 96

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has introduced a new recharge plan for its prepaid subscribers at a price of Rs 96. The new plan offers unlimited voice calls along with 100 SMS per day for a validity of 21 days. Having said that the plan comes with an overall validity of 180 days. There is no data benefit with this plan. The plan is not available in Delhi and Mumbai telecom circles. Subscribers can activate the plan by typing PLAN VOICE96 and sending the SMS to 123.

BSNL offering 'free' 5GB trial broadband plan to existing landline users: All you need to know

BSNL has relaunched a 5GB broadband plan for its landline customers. Notably, this is a free broadband trial offer. The same plan was first launched earlier this year in March, which expired on March 31. Now, the company has reintroduced the same BSNL plan, which will end on July 31, 2019. This means that the free 5GB data benefit will be live for a month only.

BSNL gives unlimited free calls with latest prepaid plan: Price and validity are surprising

BSNL has been quite aggressive lately in the telecom sector. The state-owned operator may have been in financial trouble lately but that hasn't deterred the company from competing aggressively against the private sector players with appealing prices for its services. This is the reason why BSNL is only operator other than Jio to gain subscribers at a time when others are losing them at a substantial rate. No, in order to keep the momentum going, BSNL has now come up with another appealing prepaid plan.

Government may scrap BSNL’s Northeast connectivity program, revival in limbo

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi-led government is preparing an 'internal note' to scrap the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited's (BSNL) mega Northeast telecom connectivity initiative that could garner as much as Rs 500 crore to the stressed telco which is yet to get any sort of relief from the Centre.

BSNL Now Bundles Amazon Prime Membership With Rs. 499 and Below Broadband Plans

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has reportedly started offering Amazon Prime membership with its broadband plans below Rs. 499. The new offer is said to be applicable for existing and new BSNL customers. Earlier, the state-owned telco was giving Prime access to customers opting for its broadband plans of Rs. 745 and above. BSNL is also offering up to 25 percent cashback for its customers picking up a broadband plan for 12 months. There is also a cashback on annual landline plans by the telco.

BSNL identifying land parcels for asset monetisation

NEW DELHI: Public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is in the process identifying land parcels all over the country for monetisation, which as per its internal estimate is valued at ₹20,000 crore in 2018-19.
The state-run telecom major's corporate office has circulated a list of land parcels which are proposed for monetisation through the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in the first instance.

BSNL Bumper Offer Extended Till October

The state-led telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) had a hectic month in revising and introducing new plans. It has been making widespread changes in the prepaid and broadband portfolio. The telco is facing a two side competition one from the private telecom operators which are well-equipped with a 4G network and another one from the impending launch of Reliance Jio GigaFiber. To face the competition, BSNL has revised one of its popular prepaid vouchers and one of its STVs. These plans are the Rs 186 prepaid voucher and the Rs 187 STV. Find the details of these revised plans.

BSNL, MTNL working on day-to-day basis, await revival package

State-run telecom companies BSNL and MTNL are eagerly awaiting a revival package as the threat of another round of salary delay looms. The firms have already stopped capex on expansion and other works.
According to an official, both the companies are working on a day-to-day basis as severe cash crunch has stopped them from taking long-term decisions.

The only solution is a bailout – one that was not announced in the 2019 Budget

During the Kerala floods in August 2018, when parts of the state were cut off from mobile and landline communication, the rescue and relief operations of millions got severely affected. As power supply to cell towers could not be resumed and with the backup batteries draining out, the state was in darkness and the lives of many were at stake.

BSNL Rs 186, Rs 187 plans revised: If you use Internet heavily, you might like these plans

BSNL may be in a lot of financial trouble lately but the telecom operator is in one of its most aggressive states when it comes to pricing its recharge plans. The state-owned telecom operator has been coming up with aggressive new plans for its prepaid subscribers with either attractive price cuts or coupling lots of benefits. A few days ago, we learnt that BSNL revised some of its plans by offering double data benefits without changing the prices. In continuation of that, BSNL is now extending that offer to two more plans.