BSNL plans Rs 80,000cr capex in 3yrs

BSNL is planning to invest Rs 80,000 crore in the next three years to add seven crore telephone lines.

"Our planned investment is Rs 80,000 crore till 2008, which would include everything  - IT, telecom and broadband services. We plan to deploy close to seven crore telephone lines during the next three years," S D Saxena, director (finance) of BSNL, said.

BSNL is planning to invest Rs 27,000 crore in 2005-06, he said, adding the funds would be raised through depreciation funds and internal accruals.

The company is planning to roll out 16 million GSM lines in the current fiscal with four millions lines each in the four zones.

BSNL currently has over four crore telephone subscribers with a market share of 22% in the GSM segment.

The company today launched a wireless service of films on its mobile services Cellone for which it announced a tie-up with solutions provider Mauj in the presence of Hindi film industry celebrities like Abhishek Bachchan and Ram Gopal Verma.