BHUBANESWAR: State-run telecom operator BSNL has floated tenders for expansion of mobile services in Odisha. Once the expansion is completed, 4G Internet services will be available in the State soon. Initially BSNL will start with Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and later expand 4G services to other parts of the State, CGM BSNL Odisha Circle Satyananda Naik said.
Addressing mediapersons here on Monday, Naik said BSNL needs at least 2,000 additional towers to address network coverage issues in Odisha. Currently, there are 3,187 BSNL towers in the State, but the operator is facing difficulties in getting sites for installation of the additional ones.
The issue of call drops has shown a downward trend with three per cent recorded in July. Over 80 per cent gram panchayats (GPs) have been brought under the coverage area of BSNL. Efforts are on to provide network access to all GPs by the end of this year, he said.
Amidst tough competition offered by private operators, BSNL has come up with new offers and plans to increase its customer base. Among these, unlimited free calling from BSNL land line phones to any network across the country and 20 GB data for Rs 799 and 40 GB data for Rs 1,199 have been a hit.
The operator has upgraded the broadband speed to a minimum of one Mbps from August 1 with no additional cost to the customers.
The direct Fibre To The Home (FTTH) service in major cities is allowing customers to access Internet upto 100 Mbps speed. To provide data service to students, BSNL has recently launched ‘New Student Plan’ for Rs 118 which offers one GB data for 30 days with a call charge of 10 paise per minute and SMS at 15 paise. With the new schemes in place, BSNL is expecting 4,000 new connections a month.