BSNL to expand 3G services to 120 more cities by December

NEW DELHI - State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will expand its third generation (3G) services to 120 more cities across the country by December, Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot said Thursday.

Currently, the operator runs 3G service in 640 cities.

BSNL is also expecting to increase its subscriber base in this segment by 2.5 million by March 2011, Gopal Das, BSNL chairman and managing director, said on the sidelines of a telecom event here.

BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) were awarded 3G license much before the private telcom operators by the government.

In order to give a phillip to its the mobile business, BSNL has launched a plan, “pyari jodi”, under which a BSNL landline customer can take a free SIM card and make free local calls to his landline.

In addition, the customer can also call two BSNL local numbers at a reduced rate of 20 paise per minute and one BSNL number anywhere in India at a reduced rate of 20 paise per minute without paying any additional monthly charges.

On activation, the customers will also get a talk time of Rs.15, 1,000 national SMS and 1,000 MB data free.

“The aim of this promotional scheme is not only to boost mobile business of BSNL, but also arrest steep decline in the landline business,” said Pilot.