BSNL Vizag net at Rs 52cr

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Visakhapatnam telecom district, earned a net profit of Rs 51.68 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2006.

Speaking to Business Standard, J Ganta, general manager of BSNL, Visakhapatnam telecom district, said the district was able to maintain the same level of revenues as registered in the previous year and earn a net profit of Rs 51.68 crore despite a reduction in the landline monthly rentals by Rs 70 in urban areas and Rs 40 in rural areas during 2005-06.

Moreover, the STD call charges too were reduced by about 60 per cent, and there was a slight fall in the landline connections, he added.

The total revenues of the division stood at Rs 154 crore in 2005-06 as compared to Rs 153 crore in the previous year. As on March 2006, BSNL, Vizag, had 1.51 lakh landline connections.

"Despite several marketing strategies, we lost about 3,000 landline connections during this year as against 5,000 connections in the preceding year in the district," he said.

Ganta said that their focus area during 2006-07 would be wireless phones. "In 2005-06, about 2,000 subscribers took wireless landline phones. This year, we are expecting at least 5,000 new subscribers in this segment," he said.

With regard to cell connections, the corporation added about 9,250 new cell connections in the district in 2005-06 and is targeting to touch the one-lakh mark by the end of this financial year from the present 68,000.

"Currently, we have 40 cell towers in this district while another 18 are under construction. Thirty new towers will come up during 2006-07, which will increase our capacity to 2 lakh cell connections," he said.