savramesh 37 Report post Posted July 20, 2009 (edited) Source NEW DELHI: An unsuccessful attempt at raising the number of its third-generation (3G) service subscribers to one lakh within two months could lead to BSNL following the footsteps of its public sector sibling MTNL and inviting international players to run these next-gen services for 10 years on a revenue-sharing basis. "We are going all out to build our 3G network and operations across the country and grow our subscriber base. But over the next few months, if we don't attract enough subscriber numbers, we may consider a strategy similar to that of MTNL," a senior executive at Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) said on condition of anonymity. 3G service enables subscribers to access high-speed internet, mobile TV, video conferencing and ultra-fast downloads on their mobile phones. Since private operators are getting ready to launch their 3G services next year following the expected auction of 3G spectrum by December this year, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) and BSNL now want to make the most of their first-mover advantage. Last week, MTNL had invited bids from international firms to run its fledgling 3G mobile services in Delhi and Mumbai for 10 years, in an apparent admission of its failure to generate interest in the service that has managed to attract just 1,000 subscribers in six months of operations in the Capital. To make up for lost time — BSNL could muster only 10,000 3G subscribers in six months — the company has set a stiff target for ramping up the number of 3G customers and would look at foreign participation, if it fails to achieve its goal in the next couple of months, the executive added. The company plans to increase its 3G customer base 10-fold to one lakh subscribers by September, followed by an expansion of 3G coverage from under 100 cities to 1,000 cities by year-end. It plans to launch services such as video-on-demand and games-on-demand as well as offer an extensive music library for downloads in the next three months. Late last year, both MTNL and BSNL were given 3G spectrum — the airwaves on which these high-end services can be offered — on the condition that both the operators will match the highest bid offered by private telcos during the auctions. If BSNL invites bids for running its 3G operations, this could be a shot in the arm for several telecom players waiting to enter the Indian market, the fastest-growing market in the world. The company's state-of-the-art 3G network may also attract some of the best mobile virtual network operators (MVNO). BSNL offers both landline and mobile services in 20 of the 22 telecom circles, and has a mobile customer base of 50 million. Edited July 20, 2009 by savramesh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dkaile 1,051 Report post Posted July 20, 2009 BSNL's 3G & EVDO services are good but not properly and easily accessible to customers... I am searching from where to buy their USB EVDO Modem and they have no consumer shacks... I have to go to their exchange... Is that a proper way to sell their goods and services? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
savramesh 37 Report post Posted July 20, 2009 BSNL launches new service delivery platform for 3G customers Source Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) today launched its new service delivery platform 'BSNL Live' - a web portal that would offer videos on demand and movie streaming for its 3G customers for the first time in the country. "The portal has movie streaming, games, full track songs, video clips and it will be a single window shop for all the mobile value added contents," BSNL CMD Kuldeep Goyal told reporters here today. He further said the technical platform hosting 'BSNL Live' was a Service Delivery Platform (SDP) which, as a mobile operator, BSNL was the first to deploy. It was built to meet the needs of mobile network operators, media companies, service providers etc. It has been developed with the assistance of Ericsson, he further said. This service which was launched today would now be available in over 100 cities of northern and eastern parts of India including Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, UP, Uttrakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Andaman and Nicobar. "After this 760 more cities countrywide are planned to be covered progressively in the next 6 months," he said. The launching ceremony also saw the movie premier of 'Jail' on BSNL 3G mobile through BSNL Live portal in the presence of film Director Madhur Bhandarkar, Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh, and actress Mughdha Godse. The end user price points of the contents like games will be Rs 35-100, songs Rs 15, video Rs 10 to Rs 20, video on demand at Rs 40 and wallpapers at Rs 10. Moreover, the video category will have contents like an exclusive preview of forthcoming films, footage of celebrities, interviews etc. However, Goyal said BSNL has been able to rope in just 13,000 3G mobile customers since its launch. "We have found that several areas were not fully covered under 3G services and we are now improving the coverage," he said, adding, "the company is focusing more on value added services which will help attract more customers to 3G mobile," Goyal said. At present, Value Added Services constitute 5-6 per cent of the total revenue of BSNL, he said. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
