Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), the public sector unit that was corporatised a year back, will finally launch its cellular service in end-December.
The service will, however, be available to 15,000 customers by November 14 on a trial basis where the customers will be provided free airtime for 45 days from the launch against a one-time payment of Rs 500 per SIM card.
The plans are however, yet to be cleared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
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BSNL is planning to launch its cellular services in other parts of the country latest by March 2002. At the national level, BSNL intends to launch it services in 1000 cities in phases, beginning with the metros. Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai will be initially covered.
In Kolkata, BSNL has installed 44 base stations in the past two years since it decided to launch cellular services in Kolkata. This number is expected to rise to 54, and then to 64 and finally to 84 in three phases, in the next three months.
BSNL expects to register a 12 per cent growth rate at Rs 22,000 crore. The company has achieved a Rs 10,000 crore turnover in the first six months of the current fiscal.
Experts from BSNL however, admitted that the company was not equipped to handle a very large customer base. If there is a huge switch over from the existing operators, BSNL will not be able to cater to the demand for service owing to paucity of base stations.
Chief operating officer Rajiv Sawhney of Command, one of the two existing operators in the city, said success would depend on the quality of service. Sawhney said Command's services were one of the best in the country. The company has also recently taken a number of steps to strengthen its signaling and network in its licensed area.
Chief operating officer Dipak Gulati of Bharti Mobitel, the other operator in Kolkata, said "we provide enduring value, and with the cellular industry having done five years in the country as well as in the city, customers will definitely want quality service. We will weigh the situation as and when a third operator commissions its services".