NEW DELHI: State-tun telecom company BSNL is investing an over Rs 11,000 crore to improve its all-round services including strengthening network, modernizing telephone exchanges and installing mobile towers in the naxal-dominated areas, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

"BSNL and MTNL are taking several steps to enhance revenues through investments to strengthen its network and focus on consumer care and service delivery to improve quality of service," telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has approved state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL’s) plan to hive off its tower assets into a wholly owned subsidiary and is in the process of formulating a Cabinet note for the same.

The proposal to this effect will be send to the Cabinet soon for a final approval, a senior official from DoT told Business Standard.

To fund expansion, state-run telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) plans to raise Rs 3,000 crore this year through a short-term loan. For the loan, a 12-month one, the company had invited bids from banks — both public sector and private lenders, a senior company official told Business Standard.

It has also invited proposals for launching mobile-based wallet services, in partnership with a bank and other agencies. Through this, a mobile user can pay for various services such as recharge of prepaid cards and mobile/utility bills, booking film tickets and shopping online, too. One can also transfer money.

Customers of Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and BSNL in some circles have reported maximum discrepancies in their phone bills, according to a latest report by telecom regulator TRAI.

As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) guideline, not more than 0.1 per cent of the total bills raised by a company in a service area should be disputed.

Anupam Shrivastava has been appointed the chairman and managing director (CMD) of state-run BSNL from January 15, a company statement said here Friday.

Mr. Shrivastava has been appointed CMD of BSNL for a period of five years or till the time of superannuation at the age of 60 years, it said.

BSNL employees today called an indefinite country-wide strike from February 3 next year to press its demand for proactive steps by the government to revitalise the limping telecom giant.

Since 2007 roadblocks created by the government have dragged BSNL to losses and are giving way to private sector (telecom companies) to flourish. Forum of BSNL unions and associations have decided to go for indefinite strike from February 3, 2015 demanding government measures for revamping the company, BSNL Employees Union general secretary P Abhimanyu told PTI.

Competition is never kind to incumbents. The entry of new entities, hungry for growth, changes the rules of the game. By the time the older ones ready themselves for the new game, the goalpost has moved.

This is what happened to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) in early 2000, when mobile telephony began to boom in the country. They failed to capitalise on this generational shift and now run the risk of becoming irrelevant to consumers. Predictably, both are struggling with mounting losses.

Loss-making state-owned telecom service providers, Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and MTNL will not be privatised; instead they will be turned around, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said.

For the private sector players, the minister’s message is that he’s willing to take a re-look at the merger and acquisition guidelines finalised by the UPA government, if they feel that it is not workable. Also that sufficient spectrum to operators and its optimum utilisation by them will be ensured by him.

KOLKATA: The telecom department (DoT) is considering either de-listing Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) and then merging it into Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), or listing the latter and finalising a merger swap ratio based on the valuation of the two state-run telecom companies, with the first being the more likely option, top government officials told ET.

KOLKATA: The telecom department (DoT) has dismissed Bharat Sanchar Nigam's (BSNL) demand for additional compensation of nearly Rs 589 crore for rolling out mobile networks in India's Maoist hotbeds as it would increase the final project cost well beyond the Cabinet-approved Rs 3,567.58 crore.

State-run BSNL had sought additional compensation equivalent to 16.5 per cent of the project cost to encourage its staff to work in hostile regions prone to left wing extremism.

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