The Hindu : National : BSNL sets 10-lakh broadband target

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Saturday, Sep 10, 2005

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National

BSNL sets 10-lakh broadband target

Special Correspondent

To introduce new wireless technologies; Plan to increase tele-density contribution

CHENNAI: The public sector telecom giant, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) hopes to sign up 10 lakh customers for its broadband service by the end of the year.

"We have a customer base of 1.25 lakhs. Our target for December-end is 10 lakhs," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director A.K. Sinha said here on Friday.

He was delivering the keynote address on `BSNL's vision to add value to next-generation telecom customers,' at CONNECT-2005, Tamil Nadu's biggest Information Technology (IT) fair, organised by the State Government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (southern region).

The broadband policy was framed in 2004 and BSNL launched its services on January 14, 2005.

BSNL is in the process of bringing in world-class, multi-gigabit, multi-protocol, convergent IP infrastructure. This will provide convergent services through the same backbone and different access networks such as wire line, cable, fibre or wireless.

"BSNL is working not only to meet the wide-ranging needs of the individual customers and corporate clients, but also to provide a robust and efficient backbone to cater to the bandwidth needs of different networks," he said. The organisation would introduce new technologies on the wireless front "to enable broadband services to be available through the wireless media". Of the 100 million telephone connections now, the BSNL's share was 47 million. This accounted for a tele-density of 4.52. "We plan to increase [our] tele-density contribution to 11 by the end of the financial year 2007-2008 and make telephones available on demand."

BSNL has drawn up plans to carve out a major share of the projected 250 million subscriber base by 2007. Upgradation of network and introduction of frontier technologies would go a long way in meeting the targets, he said. On rural networks, he said BSNL had 13.71 million rural connections. As many as 5.2 lakh village public telephones had been provided.

"Shortly, we will add more than 14,000 digital satellite phone terminals to provide connectivity to the remotest corners by shared access...BSNL has initiated a forum RISI, Rural Information Society initiative, and has invited State Governments, educational institutions, health institutions and local entrepreneurs to be part of this revolution...Business models need to be worked out to take this process further."

The session chairman and Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India, T.V. Ramachandran, said next-generation technologies in mobile phones would be here by 2010. Telecom would be the "springboard for expansion" of broadband and IT, he said and added that IT and telecom would "spur entrepreneurship and economic growth."

Aircel Managing Director K.V.P. Bhaskar, said that regionalising content would be "the key driver" for the market.

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