Denying rumours that BSNL would be privatised, Union Minister of State for Telecom and IT Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that the public sector telecom major is just thinking of coming out with an IPO and that too with a cap of 10 per cent only.
"There is no plan to privatise BSNL, but thinking is going on coming out with an IPO with a cap of 10 per cent only," Scindia told reporters here on Saturday.
The money generated through an IPO would be used to strengthen the BSNL network in far-flung areas, he said.
He said that there is a gulf between privatisation and IPO and added that to capture investment and market share, IPO is necessary.
"BSNL should focus on providing high-quality service so that it can attract people towards it and also compete with the private players instead of worrying about its future," the minister said.
Referring to the GSM network, he said at present 1,392 towers of the service are established in the state, while by 2009, the number of towers would reach up to 4,500.
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He said by 2009, mobile and broadband services would be available where 100 customers are guaranteed and added that the target of the ministry is to provide telecom services up to panchayat level.
At present, there are 12 lakh landline connections in the state and in the last three months there is an increase of 67,000 more landline phones in the state. The BSNL has set the target to install three lakh more connections by the year end, he added.