Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has planned
to add 80 million lines during the next three years to its existing base of
45 million direct exchange lines in order to maintain its nearly 50 per cent
market share in telephony, a senior official of the company said.
BSNL is also targeting 6.6 million internet and over six million broadband
connections during the same period, its Director N K Mangla told reporters.
The public sector undertaking is covering urban areas by GSM mobile and
direct exchange lines and providing complete coverage in rural areas by
CDMA-WLL with fixed wireless telephones in addition to landline connections
from existing spare capacities, Mangla said.
The Department of Telecommunication, he said, had a vision of 250 million
direct exchange lines, 20 million internet connections and 10 million
broadband connections by the end of December 2007.
The NIB-II project was under installation and commissioning phase all over
the country to enhance capacity of internet backbone, he said, adding
broadband services - Dataone - have already been inauguarated in Kolkota,
Chennai, Bangalore and Hydrabad, apart from Delhi and Mumbai.
Broadband services are being started in 192 more cities, including Jaipur,
from next month, he added. |
