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2017-06-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

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BSNL Times

2014-12-17T01:42:00.002-08:00

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BSNL Relaunches Ahmedabad's High Speed Unlimited Smart Broadband Plans

2014-09-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

India’s best Inter Service Provider (ISP), PSU, BSNL(Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) offers variety of broadband plans for the customers of Ahmedabad Area in Gujarat. In addition to the existing DSL Broadband Plans, BSNL relaunches new high speed unlimited smart wired line internet plans as a new promotional

offer.

In view of huge response from customers for these promotional plans, which was already closed from 08-08-2014, BSNL decided to relaunch these special Broadband plans to offer high speed internet connection with great discount offers and unlimited bandwidth for Ahmedabad area Broadband customers.

BSNL new promotional scheme offers 2 new high speed BSNL Unlimited Internet Combo Broadband Plans for Ahmedabad Wired line customers, i.e. BB Home Combo ULD 649 CS 27 applicable for only Home users with a bandwidth upto 2 Mbps till 5GB and 512Kbps after the limit, and BB Home Combo ULD 1449 CS28, very high speed unlimited smart broadband plan having a bandwidth upto 8 Mbps till 15GB and 512 Kbps after 15GB by allowing One Static IP on user request with additional charges per annum and Free calls of 250 per month within own network for all Broadband users of Ahmedabad area.

BSNL 2/8 Mbps Speed Unlimited Broadband Plans for Ahmedabad

These newly relaunched BSNL high speed broadband plans for Home & Business users under wireline services, has been available for a period of 90 days as a promotional offer from 19th August 2014 by allowing a monthly rental discount for 1/3/6 months on subscription for 1/2/3 years, which is applicable for all the new/existing customers, only in Ahmedabad area of Gujarat Telecom Circle.

BSNL Online Complaint Portal to reach Higher Authorities for Pending Issues

2014-09-05T10:29:00.005-07:00

Telecom Major PSU Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) allows all their Mobile, Broadband and Landline, WiMAX customers, to made long pending complaint issues via simple Public Grievance Registration Form to reach to higher authorities of BSNL.

This Public Grievance Complaint Management System of BSNL is one of latest productivity enhancement tools used with integrated complaint booking portals via single platform, wherever there is a need of lodging the complaints by subscribers for any long pending issue from the side of BSNL, relates to Landline, Mobile, Broadband, WiMAX, misbehavior by staff etc...

BSNL Headquarters/Corporate office of BSNL situated at New Delhi will monitor all the complaints booked with this portal, to resolve the complaints within specified time period issued by BSNL/TRAI.

At first BSNL customer should have to book their complaints at BSNL Selfcare Portal, Toll Free complaint numbers of 198(Local authorities for immediate attention for the service), & 1500, 1502, 1503,1504 etc accordingly, as per complaint nature.

Even after the complaint hasn’t been resolved with the local authorities, BSNL customers may have to lodge their long pending complaints through this Public Grievance Complaint Management System Portal.

Book your Complaint on Public Grievance Online Complaint Portal - Procedure
Booking of compliant on this BSNL Public Grievance Online Complaint Portal is very very simple.
Open your web browser and just logon to BSNL Public Grievance Registration Form http://mis.bsnl.co.in/pgs/internet/pgwebregn.asp to lodge a complaint

Select Telecom Circle or State, Fill your details in requisite fields (Name, Address, Place, E-mail Address, Contact No, Telecom SSA/Unit, Grievance-Phone, Grievance Nature, Grievance/Problem in Brief), which is must, to reach to BSNL authorities and a contact with the customer.

After filling the details, click on submit, then you will get one complaint ID, note down this, so that you may follow your complaint in future. The complaints of long pending lodged in this Public Grievance Online Complaint Portal by the users of Landline, Broadband, WiMAX, Mobile or any BSNL

service

, will be monitored by higher authorities of BSNL Circle Level and Corporate Level to resolve the issues within a specific time period.

BSNL Kerala Offers 32K/64K Free Prepaid SIM & Waives Activation Charges for Postpaid

2014-09-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

State Run Telecom Major, BSNL announced the Exclusive Offers for Kerala Telecom Circle Mobile customers for a period of 15 days by offering Free 32K/64K SIM card etc... via Melas/Exhibitions conducted by BSNL under Prepaid & Postpaid GSM Mobile Services. In addition to the existing offers, BSNL Kerala, the highest revenue based circle for telecom major BSNL, announced the following offers can be given during Melas/Road shows/Exhibitions, which may conducts only by BSNL Kerala circle in their territory.

Free Prepaid BSNL SIM cards(32K/64K) to the customers for new connections provided through Roadshows/Melas/Exhibitions.
Waiver of activation charges of Rs.100/- for new Postpaid connection of any plan purchased from Melas/Exhibitions.

New BSNL Customers cannot be provided 128K/256K SIM @ free of cost. BSNL customers can activate the new connections with latest Kerala BSNL Mobile Plans having lowest tariff including data services.

These new promotional offers(Free 32K/64K SIM & Waives Activation Charges for Postpaid) shall be offered to the customers for a limited period of 15 days from 11-08-2014 to 25-08-2014, through Roadshows/Melas/Exhibitions conducted by BSNL only in Kerala Telecom Circle.

BSNL Allows Free Data & Voice on purchase of Micromax Bundled Products

2014-09-05T10:25:00.004-07:00

PAN India 3G Telecom major, BSNL and Micromax ties up to offer more bundled services across Tablets, Smartphones, Feature phones and Data cards at affordable and cheapest rates with Free Voice Calls and Data Usage under BSNL Prepaid Mobile Services.

By this new tie up between BSNL and Micromax, new gadget user of Micromax bundled products(Tablet - P410I, Smartphone - A37 & A37B, Feature Phone - X088, Data card - MMX377G) will be allowed, to use free BSNL Voice and Data Usage for the specified period.

On purchase of this above mentioned any Micromax bundled product with mentioned BSNL Logo, which indicates the applicability of bundled product of BSNL will be offered the freebies in the package by recharging with Rs.153 Plan Voucher as

2GB of free data per quarter for 12 months from date of activation.
500 minutes of free calling per quarter for 12 months (only to other BSNL users) from date of activation.

After Free usage, BSNL users will be allowed to use any Prepaid Plans, Voice & Data STV's to reduce the tariff. At present, this new bundled offer of BSNL & Micromax will be applicable only for new Micromax gadget users of BSNL West Zone & South Zone circles. Due to some limitations, this will be not extended for Northern and Eastern circles as of now, and these new bundled offers shall not be applicable for existing BSNL Mobile Services

BSNL Landline & Broadband Installation Charges Waived by 50% for Tamilnadu Customers

2014-09-05T10:23:00.001-07:00

State Run, Largest Broadband Subscriber base Telecom Operator BSNL announced new promotional scheme (Independence day

offer) for Tamilnadu customers, by offering 50% installation fee waiver for new Landline(Fixed Line), Broadband, Landline + Broadband customers for a period of 90 days.

In view to offer more exclusive services with new schemes for Tamilnadu customers, Telecom gaint BSNL launches 50% waiver on installation charges for Rural and Urban area new Landline and Broadband Connections with any plan of entire Tamilnadu Circle as follows.

Rs. 375 (for Urban customers) & Rs. 275 (for Rural customers) to be waived on Installation Charges for new BSNL Landline Connection.
Rs. 125 to be waived on Installation Charges for new Broadband Connection over existing Landline Connection of Rural & Urban areas.
Rs. 500 (for Urban customers) & Rs. 400 (for Rural customers) on Installation Charges for new Landline+Broadband connection.

This newly announced promotional scheme of waiving the installation charges for new BSNL Landline(Fixed Line) and Broadband connections, has been available for a period of 90days as a Independence Day offer from

BSNL Missed Call Alert Service Charges reduced by 50% for North Zone Mobile Users

2014-09-05T10:21:00.001-07:00

Indian Telecom PSU, BSNL, makes new tariff for GSM Mobile Missed Call Alert(MCA) services in North Zone(Haryana, Punjab, UP(West), UP(East), Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir) circles by reducing the charges to 50% from existing under BSNL GSM Mobile Services.

BSNL Missed Call Alert (MCA) service is a solution for notifying the mobile customer about their missed calls at any time, when mobile user is in out of coverage area or when customer mobile phone is switched off even in Local/Roaming areas.

In view of rationalization, and to

offer more services with reduced tariffs for North Zone BSNL Mobile Customers, Indian Telecom gaint, BSNL reduced the charges by 50% from Rs.30 to Rs.15 only per month, which is the lowest among major operators in North Zone for subscription of Missed Call Alert(MCA) services, .

After this revision, BSNL North Zone Mobile customer has to pay just Rs.0.5 per day(Rs.15/-per month), a negligible charge for subscription of most required customer Value Added Services Missed Call Alert(MCA).

BSNL North zone mobile customers can activate/deactivate the Missed Call Alert(MCA) facility with any mode by just sending an SMS / dialing USSD code / Diverting Voice calls. This new tariff for MCA services shall be applicable for all new/existing BSNL GSM Prepaid Mobile customers of North Zone, and this revised charges comes into effective from 14th August 2014 as a regular tariff for MCA Services

BSNL Announces New Combo STV for North East Mobile Users with Lowest Call/SMS Charges & Free Internet

2014-09-05T10:17:00.001-07:00

India’s most trusted telecom brand, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) announced the introduction of New Combo STV for North East Mobile Users, as a promotional

offer for this festival season with Lowest Voice Call/SMS Charges along with 200MB Free Internet bundled data.

North East Circles (NE-1-Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and NE-2-Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland) are strategically important having large lengths of International border with China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The area is subjected to rainfall for almost eight months in a year and is prone to landslides and flood, making large parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram inaccessible during this period.
In order to offer more services for North East BSNL Mobile customers, who are in hilly with lush green forests, BSNL introduced new attractive Combo Special Tariff Voucher (STV) -92, allows all Local & STD Voice calls @ 59ps/minute, and all SMS @ 9ps/SMS along with Free Internet Data 200 MB having a maximum validity of 90 days.

BSNL New Combo STV Tariff for North East Mobile Users with Free Internet

This newly introduced BSNL attractive Combo Special Tariff Voucher (STV) -92 will be applicable for all new & existing Prepaid Plan customers of BSNL North East-1 and BSNL North East-2 circles as a promotional offer for 90 days with effect from 14-08-2014 to 11-11-2014, in addition to the existing Special Tariff Vouchers under BSNL GSM Services of North East.

BSNL Karnataka Launches New STV with 60000 Free Seconds for Mobile Users

2014-09-05T10:12:00.002-07:00

State Run Telecom Operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) announced the launch of new Special Tariff Voucher (STV) for Karnataka 2G/3G Mobile users with 60000 free seconds as a promotional offer in addition to the existing BSNL STVs.

In view to offer more reduced tariff for Karnataka mobile users, BSNL launches new promotional Special Tariff Voucher(STV)-425, which allows Free 60000 Seconds for Local & STD calls of any network across India having longer validity of 90 days.

BSNL Karnataka New STV 425 Tariff for Mobile Users

BSNL Karnataka newly launched special STV 425 shall be applicable for all Karnataka Prepaid Plan customers and this new STV has been available for a period of 90 days as a promotional offer from 06-08-2014 to 03-11-2014.

Top 10 desirable government jobs in India

2012-08-17T07:38:00.001-07:00

Government jobs have always been the most coveted ones in India for their security and stability. With the coming of the sixth pay commission, it has got even better. The pay packets are higher than before, and there are plenty of perks and benefits to enjoy. However, getting a government job isn’t easy. There are very few vacancies and you have to get through some really tough exams in order to land a job in the government sector.

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Still, if you are keen on getting a government job, you can pick from the list of 10 below, which are the most coveted government jobs in India:

Indian Administrative Services (IAS)- Every year, lakhs of students appear for IAS exam in order to get one of the most coveted government jobs in the country. The IAS exam in conducted in three stages- the prelims, the mains and the interview. An IAS officer has a good take home salary, and even better are the perks and the benefits. Of course, there is advantage of power as well.
Indian foreign service (IFS)- Do you love travelling? Then you will absolutely love your job as an IFS officer. An IFS officer gets to represent India in other countries. Your job profile includes posting in some of the best countries of the world and interacting with foreign dignitaries.
Indian revenue service- If you do not want to get too involved in the politics of the country, Indian Revenue Service is a good field to get into. You get to work in the income tax department, enjoy a good pay package, perks and benefits, without too many political hassles.
Lecturer in a government university- How about a career where you have to work only a few hours a day and interact with students? The position of lecturer in a government university is also a coveted one when it comes to government jobs in India. The pay package is sizeable and it is relatively a stress-free job.
Bank probationary officer- The Indian banking sector has grown a lot in the last decade or so. With increased competition, public banks too are now offering competitive salaries and a lot of perks to candidates. That makes the position of bank probationary officer one of the most desirable ones when it comes to government jobs in India.
State public service commission- A state public service commission officer is lower in rank than an IAS or an IPS. However, he/she still enjoys a lot of power and an opportunity to do something for the home state.
Defense- If you dream about serving the country, you could appear for NDA exams, which give you a chance to serve in the Indian National Army. Army officers enjoy great prestige and honor in the country.
A job in public sector units- There are several public sector units such as Steel Authority of India, Bharat Electronics etc. which employ qualified graduates. A job in a PSU comes with security, perks, and a fat pay packet.
Engineer in Indian Railways- If you have an engineering degree, you could apply for the position of an engineer in Indian Railways. A job in Indian Railways ensures plenty of perks including free travel, apart from the opportunity of managing around 1000 workers every day.
Indian police service- A job as a police officer may be hectic and challenging, but it is still one of the most desirable government jobs in the country. Every year, thousands of applicants go through the tough written exams and physical examinations in order to get a job as an IPS officer.

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Telecom department weighs permanent deputation for Indian Telecom Service officers

2012-07-05T02:51:00.000-07:00

The telecom department (DoT) will move a Cabinet note to ring in the "permanent deputation" model, which was recently tried out by national broadcaster Prasar Bharati, to stop the exodus of Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officers comprising the senior management of BSNL and MTNL.
If implemented, all 'Group A' ITS officers opting for permanent deputation will be bound to work in either BSNL or MTNL till retirement but will earn compensation (including pension) in line with central government pay scales, which is higher than PSU pay, executives aware of the development told ET.

A bulk of the 1800-odd ITS officers, who have more than 10 years of service left, have told DoT they are open to working in BSNL or MTNL till retirement but wish to remain in government service to enjoy the fruit of scheduled pay revisions by the Pay Commission in 2016 and 2026. "Permanent deputation is a possible solution, which has worked in government earlier.
It has been implemented in Nuclear Power Corporation of India and more recently at Prasar Bharati when Parliament approved the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Act, 2011, earlier this year, paving the way for central government officers on deemed deputation to continue working in Prasar Bharati till retirement," said a member of the DoT panel which is trying to thrash out a compromise formula to ensure ITS officers to remain in BSNL and MTNL.
But since BSNL and MTNL were spun off into corporate entities from DoT through Cabinet decisions in 1986 and 2000 respectively, any move to embrace the permanent deputation model will require Cabinet approval. Such a move will also have to be endorsed by all concerned nodal ministries, including the finmin and the departments of legal affairs, personnel and training and pensions and pensioners welfare, said the official quoted above.
Apparently, most ITS officers are averse to absorption in either BSNL or MTNL since both telecom PSUs have been stung by losses and remain cash-strapped since the outbreak of fierce competition in the telecom market and high cost of third generation, or 3G airwaves.
As a result, they are unsure whether these loss-making telcos will be able to foot their end of the pension cost. More so, since under PSU pay regulations, the government shoulders only 60% of the pension liability of BSNL and MTNL, while the balance 40% hinges on the financial status of these state-owned telcos.
However, about 600 ITS officers who have less than 10 years of service left are open to retiring from government service and seeking re-employment in BSNL or MTNL, provided the government fixes a prospective absorption date that protects their pension dues accumulated during their period of deputation in these telcos.
But this might be easier said than done since the Delhi High Court has fixed August 12, 2005, as the absorption date of all ITS officers opting to become fullfledged employees of BSNL and MTNL, post-retirement from government service.
In that case, a majority of the ITS officers who are in BSNL will lose seven years of central government pension. Indications are that BSNL, MTNL and the Indian Telecom Service Association, the body representing ITS officers, may seek a review of the Delhi High Court order.
Last month, BSNL and MTNL had sought a review of an April 17 Delhi High Court order that required them to release ITS officers by May 14 as they had all opted to return to government service where pension is higher.
Both telcos had claimed that such a move would derail them and had sought two years from the high court to defer the ITS' repatriation exercise. But the court has given them till September 30.
Job Model
If implemented, 'Group A' ITS officers opting for permanent deputation will be bound to work in either BSNL or MTNL till retirement However, they will earn compensation (including pension) in line with central government pay scales.

BSNL warning over missed calls and SIM cloning

2012-07-05T02:47:00.003-07:00

LUCKNOW: Next time if you get a missed call starting with +92; #90 or #09, don't show the courtesy of calling back. BSNL has issued alerts to subscribers — particularly about the series mentioned above — saying that calling the number back after a missed call may make a user susceptible to SIM card cloning. There is, however, confusion over this claim made by some BSNL and intelligence officials. Cloning a SIM card requires physical access to it or the interception of the communication between the caller and his or her cellphone operator's network.

It is said that one lakh subscribers have fallen prey to this scam. Intelligence agencies too are said to have confirmed to the service providers particularly in the UP West telecom division that such a racket is going on and the menace is growing fast. "We are sure there must be some more similar combinations that the miscreants are using to clone the handsets, including SIM, and all the information stored in them," an intelligence officer told TOI. (This claim made by this intelligence official seems implausible, or nearly impossible.)
General manager of BSNL, RV Verma, said the department had already issued alerts to all the broadband subscribers and now alerts were being SMSed to other subscribers as well.
Anyone can clone a SIM card by using a hardware tool that can read and copy information from it. But wirelessly or remotely intercepting information contained within the SIM, though theoretically possible, is considered extremely difficult. It may require hacking into the telecom operator's network or using very expensive tools. An article on eHow, a website that explains how users can performs various tasks using several gadgets, says that the SIM can be cloned using a cheap hardware tool that can extract the authentication key from one SIM and copy it to another. But it doesn't mention any method that can make use of missed calls to clone a SIM.
"It usually starts with a missed call from a number starting with +92. In case the subscriber takes the call before it is dropped as a missed call then the caller on the other end poses as a call center executive checking the connectivity. The caller then asks the subscriber to press # 09 or # 90 call back on his number to establish that the connectivity to the subscriber was seamless," says a victim who reported the matter to the BSNL office at Moradabad last week. "The moment I redialled the caller number, my account balance lost a sum of money. Thereafter, in the three days that followed every time I got my cell phone recharged, the balance would be reduced to single digits within the next few minutes," she told the BSNL officials.

BSNL 3G, 2G services to get boost

2012-07-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

BSNL has signed a deal with ZTE, which will help the operator in commissioning new lines and maintaining its GSM 2G and 3G network.

BSNL has signed a deal with ZTE, a Chinese telecom equipment provider, to support 10.15 million BSNL's GSM lines across the country.
Under this partnership, ZTE will be involved in planning, financing, engineering, supply, installation and testing, commissioning and annual maintenance of the GSM lines. The procurement of these lines for expansion of 2G and 3G services will cover all BSNL telecom circles in Northern & Southern Zones.

BSNL which has been losing market share to the private players for past many years now, mainly due to the capacity crunch because of its failure to add new lines due to various controversies every time it awarded contracts for new lines.
Now with ZTE being responsible for all the aspects related to network, it is expected that network related issues that its subscribers were facing will at least reduce to a manageable level. And the new lines will be added to boost capacity, which will make it possible to lure some customers back.
While BSNL will still have to put its act together in as far as market and after sales service is concerned. At which it has certainly not been the best in the industry. However these will be less of a bother as very competitive pricing structure does attract a lot of customers and with better network in place, they will have much less to complain.
However, as was the case earlier, there is always a danger of either government not being comfortable with the idea of a Chinese vendor handling the incumbent operator's network, or some irregularities being pointed out by rival equipment vendors and they dragging the operator to the court, delaying the entire process again.
However, as of now nothing of that sort has happened and we hope that things do turn positive for BSNL very soon.

Our biggest problem is that half of revenues go towards staff salaries: R K Upadhyay

2012-07-05T02:45:00.000-07:00

R K Upadhyay: took over as chairman and managing director of state-run telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) in April 2011, one of its worst financial times. He says he’s now confident of arresting its decline through various measures, including renewed focus on landline and mobile services, sorting out procurement problems and outsourcing unutilised space and tower management. In an interview with Mansi Taneja, he speaks about the company’s future plans. Edited excerpts:
You have taken various initiatives since you took over the company, including a massive drive for all-round improvement in performance. How has that helped?
Revenue from services has shown improvement, though expenditure has also gone up because of inflation and other factors, including the wage bill. The decline has been arrested, our losses in the balance sheet might be of the same order or a little more but the fact is that there has been an improvement in revenue, a positive sign.

Various steps were taken last year, which will start yielding results in the current fiscal. There were problems in procurement for essential services. All that has been streamlined and supplies have started. We have also placed orders for 15 million GSM lines and it will be done in six to eight months. The project cost will be around Rs 5,000 crore.
For the past three-four years, BSNL could not place orders for GSM capacity expansion. What is the plan for further expansion after the current tender of 15 million lines?
According to our estimates, there will be demand for another 15 million lines. There is a provision in the existing tender where we can place a further order for 50 per cent of the total capacity. For the rest, we will come out with a fresh tender.
You have been focusing on government projects of late, for providing connectivity and telecom services. How many deals have you bagged?
We have got a Rs 280-crore deal from the customs department for providing telecom services over 10 years. Then, there is a project from the ministry of home affairs for connecting all police stations across the country, mainly for automation. We will be laying the network for it and the project cost is around Rs 220 crore; for IT connectivity, there will be another company.
Then, a Rs 40-crore deal with the income-tax department for our services and a project worth Rs 160 crore from Navodaya schools for connectivity. All these projects will enable us to increase our top line and reduce our losses over a period of time.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had directed both BSNL and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, its counterpart in Mumbai and Delhi) to reduce staff in a targeted manner. What is the update on your plan for a voluntary retirement scheme?
BSNL’s biggest problem is that 49 per cent of revenues go towards staff salaries. That is why we are exploring all possible revenue streams, including land resources. The proposal for VRS is still pending.
What other new projects are on the anvil for increasing revenues?
We have chalked out a strategy to increase revenues by 10-15 per cent through various measures, including leasing out real estate, outsourcing operations, management of towers, and offering enterprise services. We also plan to make full use of our seven telecom factories. We have galvanising facilities in our units, used for tower manufacturing. We have had initial discussions with private players and will soon come out with an Expression of Interest on appointing a consultant for this.
Besides, we will be focusing on broadband services across all technology platforms.

BSNL to launch a WiFi pocket router for Rs 5,800

2012-07-05T02:41:00.002-07:00

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), in association with Shyam Networks will launch a 3G WiFi Router, Winknet MF 50, on Tuesday with attractive data plans to boost the uptake of its 3G services.
BSNL spokesperson said to The Mobile Indian, "3G WiFi Router, Winknet MF 50, will be made available from tomorrow at all the BSNL stores for Rs 5,800. It will come bundled with attractive data plans that BSNL will announce tomorrow."
Winknet MF 50, 3G pocket router, will converts the data signal connection to WiFi, thus creating a Wifi hotspot which can be used by minimum five users simultaneously for connecting WiFi enabled devices including phones, laptops and personal computers

This is not the first time that both the companies are working together for consumer products. A couple of months back BSNL and Shyam Networks had launched a 3G data card Winknet in Uttar Pradesh.
Winknet, 3G dongle, was launched for Rs 1,900 and it also supported 2G connection. It had a download speed of 7.2 mbps and upload speed of 5.76 mbps.

A ticket for a movie legend

2012-07-05T02:40:00.002-07:00

For this 52-year-old BSNL employee in Madurai, movie tickets are not just an entry pass to the cinema hall, but memorabilia to showcase his love for legendary actor and former chief minister MG Ramachandran.
M Tamilnesan, from T Kunnathur near Perayur, has religiously collected tickets of all the MGR movies that he has watched in the last 20 years. While almost all theatres in Madurai are covered, he also has tickets of theatres from Coimbatore, Salem, Dindigul, Palani, Chennai and other towns. "I missed tickets from theatres in Hyderabad and Bangalore," says Tamilnesan, proudly displaying the tickets pasted in the order of date. Some of them he possesses are truly memorabilia as those theatres no longer exist now.

An SSLC holder, Tamilnesan recollects that he got introduced to MGR films when he was studying in the ninth standard. "I vividly remember the day. The film was Mugarasi, screened in a theatre in nearby Kallupatti village. There was a huge crowd that came in bullock carts from various villages. I was surprised to see that a large number of women had also come," says Tamilnesan. "But after watching the movie, I understood the reason for the huge crowd. It was the aura of MGR," he says. But he did not start collecting tickets from that time. "It occurred to me to collect tickets only much later, in the 1990s. Till date, I have 800 tickets costing from Rs 2 to Rs 50 bought from over 150 theatres," he says. Tamilnesan maintains a diary where he has pasted the tickets with notes of the film, theatre and the show timings. "Half of the theatres have been razed down now," he says.
A diehard fan of MGR, so much so that he offers prayers to the matinee idol's portrait in his house everyday, Tamilnesan claims he has not watched films of any other actor. "Even in television, I don't watch any other films or programmes except for news. But every Sunday, without fail, I watch an MGR movie. I have even watched movies like "Admimai Penn" 100 times," he says.
Tamilnesan has also founded Madurai District MGR Devotees Club that has 130 members. The main activity of the club is to visit various towns and watch MGR films. Tamilnesan has planned a library in Kunnathur with the 150-odd books about MGR he possesses. "MGR's life, like his films, is a messages to the masses. I want to spread them," he says.

BSNL warning over missed calls and SIM cloning

2012-07-05T02:39:00.000-07:00

Next time if you get a missed call starting with +92; #90 or #09, don't show the courtesy of calling back. BSNL has issued alerts to subscribers — particularly about the series mentioned above — saying that calling the number back after a missed call may make a user susceptible to SIM card cloning. There is, however, confusion over this claim made by some BSNL and intelligence officials. Cloning a SIM card requires physical access to it or the interception of the communication between the caller and his or her cellphone operator's network.

It is said that one lakh subscribers have fallen prey to this scam. Intelligence agencies too are said to have confirmed to the service providers particularly in the UP West telecom division that such a racket is going on and the menace is growing fast. "We are sure there must be some more similar combinations that the miscreants are using to clone the handsets, including SIM, and all the information stored in them," an intelligence officer told TOI. (This claim made by this intelligence official seems implausible, or nearly impossible.)
General manager of BSNL, RV Verma, said the department had already issued alerts to all the broadband subscribers and now alerts were being SMSed to other subscribers as well.
Anyone can clone a SIM card by using a hardware tool that can read and copy information from it. But wirelessly or remotely intercepting information contained within the SIM, though theoretically possible, is considered extremely difficult. It may require hacking into the telecom operator's network or using very expensive tools. An article on eHow, a website that explains how users can performs various tasks using several gadgets, says that the SIM can be cloned using a cheap hardware tool that can extract the authentication key from one SIM and copy it to another. But it doesn't mention any method that can make use of missed calls to clone a SIM.
"It usually starts with a missed call from a number starting with +92. In case the subscriber takes the call before it is dropped as a missed call then the caller on the other end poses as a call center executive checking the connectivity. The caller then asks the subscriber to press # 09 or # 90 call back on his number to establish that the connectivity to the subscriber was seamless," says a victim who reported the matter to the BSNL office at Moradabad last week. "The moment I redialled the caller number, my account balance lost a sum of money. Thereafter, in the three days that followed every time I got my cell phone recharged, the balance would be reduced to single digits within the next few minutes," she told the BSNL officials.

BSNL to set up call center in West Bengal for broadband users

2012-07-05T02:37:00.002-07:00

Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) will set up a call centre in West Bengal specially for registration of complaints by its landline and broadband users.
     At present, complaints by subscribers have to be made at exchanges, resulting in delay in solving the issue. "BSNL has geared up to streamline and resolve complaints issues with a new call center specifically for landline and broadband subscribers," BSNL (Calcutta Telephones) CGM Somnath Maity told PTI here.

     "By end of July, we will have one call center for entire West Bengal for landline and broadband subscribers. Similarly, call centers for other states will also come up," he said.
     After the call center for fixed access connection is set up BSNL subscribers in Calcutta and Bengal circles would be able to access the centralised call center to address their problems.
     BSNL has dedicated call centers for mobile connections. "The centralised call center can sort out problems of any subscriber irrespective of circle he belongs to in Bengal," Maity said.

BSNL to set up call centre in Bengal for broadband, landline users

2012-07-05T02:36:00.002-07:00

Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) will set up a call centre in West Bengal specially for registration of complaints by its landline and broadband users.

At present, complaints by subscribers have to be made at exchanges, resulting in delay in solving the issue.

“BSNL has geared up to streamline and resolve complaints issues with a new call centre specifically for landline and broadband subscribers,” BSNL (Calcutta Telephones) CGM Mr Somnath Maity told PTI here.

“By end of July, we will have one call centre for entire West Bengal for landline and broadband subscribers. Similarly, call centres for other states will also come up,” he said.

After the call centre for fixed access connection is set up BSNL subscribers in Calcutta and Bengal circles would be able to access the centralised call centre to address their problems.

BSNL has dedicated call centres for mobile connections.

“The centralised call centre can sort out problems of any subscriber irrespective of circle he belongs to in Bengal,” Mr Maity said.

TDSAT asks BSNL to give Loop Telecom time to clear dues

2012-07-05T02:35:00.002-07:00

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to give at least a week's time to Loop Telecom to clear dues.

The tribunal has told the PSU that Loop "has a right to get reasonable time to satisfy the demand raised" before BSNL encashes its bank guarantee to settle the network interconnect usage charges.

TDSAT also said the effect of the cancellation of Loop's licence by the Supreme Court "has to be gone into".

"I am of the opinion that end of justice will be sub-served if the respondent (BSNL) is directed to give a reasonable time, not less than seven working days, to the petitioner for making payment for the demand raised by the respondent before resorting to encashment of the bank guarantees," said a vacation bench of the TDSAT.

It asked to list the matter on Loop for further hearing before the main bench on July 17.

Earlier this month, TDSAT had stayed BSNL from encashing the bank guarantee given by Loop in Madhya Pradesh and J&K circles until further orders.

Loop, which has entered into interconnect agreement with the PSU had submitted a list of 23 Bank Guarantees for different circles in its application. While its four bank guarantees were valid up to July 15, 2012, the rest were valid up to October 2012 and April 2013.

Loop had contended that its guarantees were encashed by BSNL without giving any notice and came to know about it only after it was informed by the State Bank of India on June 15.

It further contended that BSNL was encashing entire amount of the guarantee, though the dues were far less. Citing one example, Loop's counsel Meet Malhotra said that for a simple demand of Rs 50,000 a guarantee of Rs 2.5 crore was encashed.

Malhotra further contended that Loop should have at least an opportunity to see the demand before any invocation of guarantee is done by BSNL.

Loop has disputed the interconnection charges to BSNL as its licence has been cancelled.

It was issued 2G spectrum with licences for 21 circles in 2008 during the tenure of the then Telecom Minister A Raja.

The Supreme Court on February 2 held that the process of allocating all the 122 second generation (2G) licences, including those to Loop, was 'arbitrary and unconstitutional' and cancelled all of them.

Loop had filed another petition before TDSAT in May, seeking Rs 1,000 crore compensation from the government for issuing faulty licence and spectrum.

Telecom employees stage dharna

2012-06-08T00:12:00.002-07:00

Telecom employees affiliated to Forum of BSNL Unions staged a day-long dharna on the premises of the office of BSNL Deputy General Manager here on Wednesday seeking restoration of some perks taken away from them.

S. Subramaniam, assistant district secretary of BSNL Employees' Union, said the employees were not getting the routinely disbursed medical allowance, Leave Travel Concession (LTC) facilities and LTC leave encashment since last year.

Similarly, the annual bonus was not given for the last two years.

The employees also expressed disappointment that their representation seeking merger of 78.2 per cent industrial dearness allowance with the basic salary was not addressed till now.

BSNL officers’ stir for perks

2012-06-08T00:11:00.003-07:00

NASHIK: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) officers on Wednesday staged a day-long agitation in front of the BSNL office demanding release of perks that were frozen for over a year under the pretext that BSNL was financially weak.
"We cooperated, but in May, BSNL released perks to Indian Telecom Service officials working on deputation. We are opposing the discrimination," MB Sangle, joint secretary of officers association, said. The officers have threatened an indefinite strike from June 13, if demands are not met.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s subscribers facing hardships

2012-06-08T00:11:00.000-07:00

NAGPUR: Exactly 15 days ago, Himani Mehata, a resident of Subhash Nagar and G Vilasrao, a resident of Sai Mandir lodged complaints regarding non-functioning of their landline and broadband connections at the VRCE telephone exchange of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
Since then, both complainants have met officials of the VRCE customer service centre (CSC), phone mechanics and even officials of the rank of divisional engineer but only received assurance that their dead phones will start functioning by the evening.

nother subscriber Ajay Talewar from Verma Layout has also been doing the rounds of BSNL offices since many days to register a complaint regarding his non-functioning landline.
Interestingly, instead of attending to his complaint, a BSNL phone mechanic told Talewar that almost 10,000 subscribers under the VRCE exchange are facing a similar problem since days. He even advised Talewar not to wait for restoration of the line and switch over to any other operator.
Sources at BSNL informed that these days many among the 17,000-odd subscribers under the VRCE telephone exchange were recently shifted to the new system and that they are facing hardships due to 'dead' telephones. The list of complainants at the VRCE exchange is quite long.
A phone mechanic at the exchange informed that almost 10,000 subscribers from Subhash Nagar, Jaitala, Gopal Nagar, Sawarkar Nagar and Wardha Road to Shankar Nagar were recently shifted from the old system to the digital one. The subscribers are doing the rounds of the VRCE CSC to register their complaints. BSNL officials have also appointed a special officer at the exchange to note down the complaints and convince subscribers about the problem.
BSNL's VRCE divisional engineer BR Vethe admitted that services have been hit and several subscribers are facing problems. He assured that the situation would normalize in the next few days. Vethe informed that BSNL on May 31 commissioned a state-of-the-art EWSD exchange with a 10,000-line capacity at the VRCE exchange to serve the landline, broadband and 3G needs of subscribers. Over 10,000 connections were getting the service on the old E-10 B system which has been shifted to the new one.
Manual error and wrong wiring work during installation have caused such problems. Over 800 connections have faced difficulties. "Just two days back we rectified the problem and started addressing the complaints. In the next few days all the complaints will be take care of," said Vethe.
BSNL's chief PRO TB Wankhade too echoed similar views. He appealed to customers under the VRCE telephone exchange of level 222XXXX and 223XXXX to re-register and lock their STD/ISD facilities as per the procedure because of technical upgradation work being undertaken by the company. Subscribers can also call 2234567. Complaints can be lodged by calling 198.
BSNL at your doorstep
Getting BSNL services and registering for landline, broadband or mobile services has become easy. BSNL has launched an SMS-based service to provide services at the doorsteps of customers.
BSNL's chief PRO TB Wankhade informed that customers can use the SMS option to get a new connection- just by sending an SMS to 54141 (BSNL mobile) or to 9400054141 (from other operators). Customers can send LL for land line, BB for broadband, LL+BB for land line and broadband and other services like 3G cards etc along with name and address. "BSNL's sales agents will visit your place to collect documents and install connections," said Vethe.

BSNL GM in CBI net for disproportionate assets

2012-06-08T00:09:00.002-07:00

Vishakhapatnam, Jun 6 (PTI) CBI has registered a case against a senior BSNL official in Rajahmundry in East Godavari district for allegedly having assets worth Rs two crore, which were disproportionate to his known sources of him. BSNL general manager G Raghavendra Rao has been booked for allegedly acquiring assets in his name and in the names of his family members, a CBI release here said. The case was registered after CBI officials conducted searches at his office and residence in Rajahmundry and also at his house in Hyderabad. Searches were also conducted at the residential premises of Rao's close relatives in Vijayawada and Hyderabad, following which assets worth over Rs two crore were found, the release said. The immovable assets include a luxurious flat in the Raintree park complex at Kukatpally, Hyderabad worth around Rs one core and more than 23 acres of land in Krishna and Ranga Reddy districts. The land and flat were purchased by declaring less value than the actual amount paid for them. Several incriminating documents related to his properties were also seized from a bank locker in the name of his wife in Hyderabad. Further investigation into the case is on, the release added. PTI COR GK GK