The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Back to waiting, at BSNL!

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 11, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Back to waiting, at BSNL!

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, DEC. 10. BSNL has announced the rationing of pre-paid mobile phone connections to cope with burgeoning demand.

Customers applying for the `Excel' pre-paid service would be put on a waiting list and provided connection only when extra capacity is available.

Those in a rush can avail themselves of the Tatkal scheme by paying Rs. 2,220.

District-wise list

According to a press release, separate district-wise waiting list would be maintained and cleared according to "seniority of applications". In the Tatkal scheme, the customer would be expected to purchase a Rs. 2,000 recharge coupon along with the connection of Rs. 220. The recharge coupon would be valid for six months.

The BSNL presently has 7.6 lakh mobile phone customers in the State. With tariff reduction in September last, the number of calls has increased putting extra load on the mobile network. BSNL officials claim that if new connections are not controlled it would lead to overloading of the network and deteriorate the service to existing customers.

The maximum increase in mobile connections has been in the pre-paid category and till new equipment is in place to handle extra capacity, the company has decided to go slow on new connections. Post paid `CellOne' connections have however been spared this embargo and are available as before.

The BSNL is in the process of adding equipment to handle 9.5 more mobile connections. This would include extending mobile service to 350 more towns in addition to the present service in 325 towns of the State and connectivity along 9,000 km of highway and rail network.

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