Saturday May 17, 04:21 AM
MTNL services to reach beyond Delhi, Mumbai
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By Rishi Raj
Finally, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) would be stepping outside Delhi and Mumbai. The department of telecommunications (DoT) will soon allow the company to render landline, broadband and IPTV services in the National Capital Region (NCR)-which includes Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad & Ghaziabad-and adjoining areas of Mumbai. Officials say MTNL has applied to DoT for a unified access service licence (UASL.) The company now has a basic service licence for landline services and a cellular mobile licence for mobile services. The cellular licence takes the NCR or the adjoining areas of Mumbai as one circle, so MTNL gives mobile services in these regions. But the basic service licence separates the circles. The UASL clubs the nearby areas into Delhi or Mumbai. MTNL will however, have to pay about Rs 70 crore for the Delhi licence and Rs 100 crore for Mumbai. It did not have to pay any licence fee for its current basic and cellular licence. MTNL has along wanted to provide services throughout the country, but the restrictions inhibited its growth. The present relaxation would help it garner more subscribers for its landline and broadband services. In addition, this will provide a fillip to its IPTV services, which can be marketed in broader areas. MTNL has about 3.28 million GSM mobile and 4 million landline users. However, it will be status quo for BSNL, which operates a pan-India, barring the two metros. BSNL has not applied for a UASL because it will have to fork Rs 1,650 crore because of its pan-India coverage.
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