Coming March, Jammu and Kashmirwill witness the launch of 3G services by the public telecom giant BSNL. The operator is all geared up to launch the much awaited service in J&K. However, the circle does not seem to be very attractive, and thus we don’t see many takers for the service. However, the operator is all bullish and has set the third month of the year as the official date for launch.
BSNL
BSNL to provide BlackBerry services by year end
BSNL is the most recent entrant in the BlackBerry league and will directly compete with five other services providers – Airtel, Vodafone, BPL, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices who already provide BlackBerry services to their subscribers.
In a recent statement, the state-run telecom giant has declared that they are well on track in terms of the required infrastructure and facilities and will be launching BlackBerry services by December. No further details were given by the company, but this seems to be a certain move by BSNL to stay in the race with private operators.
BSNL makes calls to SAARC countries a bit cheaper
Public operator BSNL has announced its move to slash call rates to SAARC countries by 15-30%in the days to come. Currently, calling to these countries is charged around Rs. 10-12, which would be reduced to Rs. 9-10 once the plan is implemented. BSNL also plans to slash calling rates to Middle East countries as well.
Call rates among the SAARC countries were among the highest in the world and this move would make calling more affordable. Some specifics of the new plan are:
- Talk Plan you need to avail the reduced rates: PostPaid Plan 720
- Landline users can call at Rs.9.60 per minute
- Mobile users can call at Rs.9 per minute
- Reduced rates available on calls to: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan
We Say: Though the reduction in the call rates is around 20%, we wouldn’t see a spectacular increase in calling to SAARC countries. Considering the fat price tag it comes with, some free calling minutes could help make it more attractive.
BSNL to offer Haier Mobile handsets
State-run BSNL has short listed Chinese brand Haier Mobile for offering CDMA handsets along with its connection in a combo bundled scheme. BSNL will be launching various CDMA bundled schemes (i.e. handset + connection) by the end of this year, of which majority of the handsets will be provided by Haier Mobile.
BSNL selected Haier Mobile on the basis of bids that they had invited from various handsets firm for launching the bundled scheme. For its CDMA network, BSNL plans setting up 10,000 wireless towers within a year. BSNL already provides fixed wireless and limited CDMA mobility service under the brand ‘Tarang’ in some of the existing circles.
BSNL’s next to sell the iPhone in India with 3G
TeleGyaan has blogged about BSNL getting its nod to start off with its 3G services in some time. The much awaited launch of the 3G service would be even grand with BSNL planning to launch the iPhone 3G along with it. This would be a good move for the public operator given the fact that it would be providing the core benefit of 3G with the phone before the first movers Airtel and Vodafone.
The only factor to watch here would be the price of the phone, which would be set by Apple, but given its failure in its first try, we might see some change in its pricing. Hoping to see the operator launching it soon…
BSNL to begin 3G services by December
Telecom PSU, BSNL has set its target of starting 3G mobile services by year end and be the first telecom operator in India to launch this facility. BSNL has decided to take a lead over private telecom operators and has placed purchase orders for necessary equipments required to initiate 3G services in the northern, eastern and western circles.
CIT Minister A Raja had given the lead to telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL for allocating 3G spectrum ahead of others with a condition that both will pay the price equivalent to the highest bid. This was done keeping in mind the cumbersome process to procure equipments by the PSUs in comparison to that by the private players.
This move would definitely benefit BSNL with various the first mover advantages, couple of them being opportunity for early profits and status of monopoly.
BSNL wants free access to WiMax
WiMax Gyaan: WiMax stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It is the next generation of wireless connectivity, allowing high speed data transfers across distances wirelessly. The basic objective was to have wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL.
With the gates opening up, BSNL, which is a state owned operator, wants access to the spectrum free of cost. The cost here involves the license and entry fee. The other operators and Internet Service providers would be paying fees ranging from 2 to 10 crores for spectrum allocation in cities.
What are the advantages to you:
- Connecting Wi-Fi hotspots with each other and to other parts of the Internet.
- Providing a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for last mile broadband access.
- Providing high-speed data and telecommunications services.
What’s your take on the topic? Share your Gyaan on TeleGyaan Forums.
BSNL offers cool deals from October 1
BSNL is celebrating the organisations foundation along with the birth anniversary of Bapu. This gives them a reason to do something that would benefit the masses. This calls for great deals up for grabs, which includes a list of them:
Firstly BSNL is waiving its connection charge of Rs. 500 to the people who would be applying for a new landline or WLL connection in this Party Week. To back this it would also be providing free sim cards to the people on the 2nd of October only at the General Manager’s office. But things don’t come so easily, one has to remit a service tax of a whopping Rs. 12, which would not be a problem considering what you are getting in return.
Now this plan also comes with another plan of stepping up the image of the operator by using a common logo for the service provided by them and also trying to ease the process of paying bills. Here the operator would deploy selling agents to accept cheques and demand drafts in order to pay bills definitely trying to add a personal touch to the process.
What we would say is that the operator has made the best use of the patriotic feel in the air in India and thus making the best of it through Bapu’s birthday. Nice one BSNL…