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.

TRAI receives DoT reference, to start consultation on 4G spectrum allocation to BSNL, MTNL soon

NEW DELHI: The department of telecom (DoT) has finally sought views on the allocation of the fourth generation or 4G airwaves to the two public sector telcos— Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) from the sector regulator which is planning to start consultation process soon.

BSNL to hive off Rs 15,000 crore fibre assets into separate unit

Cash-strapped telecom player BSNL, which faced issues with salary payments last month, plans to hive off its fibre assets into a separate company, which is expected to have a valuation of Rs 10,000-15,000 crore.
BSNL has about eight lakh route km of fibre infrastructure across India compared with Reliance Jio with 4.78 lakh route km (including 178,000 route km that it acquired from Reliance Communications) and Airtel’s 2.46 lakh route km and Vodafone Idea’s 1.56 lakh km, according to estimates.

Trai to begin consultations on allotting 4G spectrum to BSNL

New Delhi: The telecom regulator will soon begin consultations on how the government should allocate 4G spectrum to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) at a time the state-run operator is struggling to pay salaries to employees.
“The department of telecommunications (DoT) sent us a reference a few days back. Now we will carry out a consultation on allocation of 4G spectrum (for BSNL)," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman R.S. Sharma said on Tuesday.

Salary scare puts BSNL revival on fast-track

The woes of ailing state-run telecom BSNL may ease by June.
Various factors are at play to bring back the public sector undertaking (PSU) to a sustainable level. Hectic discussions are underway between senior officials of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and BSNL since the salary scare incident earlier this month when the PSU delayed the payment of dues for February to its employees.

BSNL meet on April 4, March salary to be on time

The state-run BSNL will hold a crucial board meeting on April 4 to discuss the 2018-19 financial results, the roadmap, investments for 2019 fiscal, increasing of the ceiling limit for capex loans, sources said on Friday.
They also informed that the Public Sector Unit will its services revenues to pay March salaries on time.

BSNL rolls out Wi-Fi hotspot vouchers starting at Rs 19

State-owned telecom operator BSNL has announced new tariff vouchers which will enable users to access its Wi-Fi hotspots across all the major cities in the country. Last year, telecom minister Manoj Sinha announced that India will have around one million Wi-Fi hotspots by the end of this year. So, the new tariff vouchers from BSNL are seen as a step towards achieve that goal.

BSNL, MTNL woes: PMO convenes meeting on April 2

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has convened a meeting on April 2 to deliberate on the revival of state-run telecom firms BSNL and MTNL, which have been facing severe financial crunch with mounting losses and stagnant revenues. Both the firms failed to pay February salary on time to their around 2-lakh-strong combined workforce. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been engaging with the firms for some time now to work out a solution.

BSNL Launches Wi-Fi Hotspot Vouchers that Offer Up to 30GB of Data at a Starting Price of Rs.19

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is on its way to deploying Wi-Fi hotspots all across India. According to a report by TelecomTalk, BSNL is extending its hotspot footprint in India and offering the services to its subscribers. Not just BSNL, other telcos like Vodafone and Airtel. Let’s find out more about it.

7th Pay Commission: Here’s a piece of Good news for BSNL employees

7th pay commission for BSNL employees: In the new financial year, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) employees may receive a piece of good news. If the reports are to be believed then the telecom department is likely to implement the recommendations of 7th Pay Commissions, which were stamped earlier. The government employees who have been waiting and demanding eagerly for salary hike and clearance of all pending dues are likely to receive it in the new financial year.

BSNL Launches 4G Services in 25 Towns of Telangana Circle

State-run telecom operator, BSNL, has been expanding its 4G footprint across the country. Last week, the telco had announced the launch of its high-speed 4G services in 25 towns of Telangana circle. Alongside Telangana, BSNL is already providing 4G in 11 districts of Andhra Pradesh state as well. In Telangana, BSNL has launched 4G in districts like Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam,

BSNL now offers 4G services in Telangana: Report

reportedly launched its 4G services in 25 towns of Telangana circle, Telecomtalk reported.

BSNL now offers 4G services in Telangana: Report


According to a report, BSNL has launched this service in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, and Medak.

BSNL-MTNL merger to create a financially stronger entity; employees to benefit: Frost & Sullivan

NEW DELHI: The merger of state-run PSUs BSNL and MTNL has the potential to increase the overall valuation and make the merged entity financially stronger to compete with private telcos in the country, Frost & Sullivan said in a note. It added that a successful merger will be good for everyone, including employees of both the PSUs.

"I see BSNL and MTNL merger as an inevitable outcome of this rapid transformation in the Indian telecom industry...the merger will increase the overall valuation and make the merged entity financially stronger, thereby receive a better credit term, which is an essential component of capital intensive businesses," Benoy CS, Director, Digital Transformation Practice, Frost & Sullivan said.

BSNL seeks to rent its land to other state-owned units instead of selling

 Troubled telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), which is expecting a bailout package and thinking of monetising its assets, wants to be allowed to rent its land (it has about 7,500 plots in the country with a rough valuation of Rs 70,000 crore) to other central public sector units instead of selling them.

Differentiated Voting Lessons From Azim Premji

There is little doubt, given the growing hunger for capital, both to revive growth and to finance innovation, that we need to create two categories of shares – one with more voting rights and the other with higher economic rights.

Dhanbad, Ranchi in Jharkhand have highest 4G availability in India, Delhi and Mumbai don't fare in top 10

It has been a few years since 4G networks have been in India. After Jio's 4G VoLTE boom in 2016, the county has witnessed faster access to the Internet, resulting in growth of digital services. Presently, 4G is the mainstream network and with 5G knocking on the door, things can only get better for consumers. Research firm Opensignal recently conducted research on the availability of 4G networks and the coal town from the state of Jharkhand has come out as the city in India with the best 4G availability.

BSNL Wi-Fi Hotspot Vouchers Starting at Rs 19 Will Let You Access the Internet at Over 16,000 Public Locations

Back at the Indian Mobile Congress 2018, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha had announced that by the end of 2019, Indian telecom operators would deploy around one million Wi-Fi hotspots and now it seems that the telcos might really be on the path of achieving this feat. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has followed on the growth path and is already armed with a massive footprint of Wi-Fi hotspot locations which are spread all across the country. Other telecom operators like Vodafone and Airtel are also slowly expanding their hotspot footprint in India and are deploying the latest technology to provide these services to the subscribers.