Mtnl To Invest Rs 2000cr On Networking

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) will spend Rs 2,000 crore out of its disinvestment proceeds on network consolidation over the next two years.

Addressing a meeting organised in the capital by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), MTNL chairman and managing director S Rajagopalan said the telecom PSU needed to focus on three major areas, namely improvement in customer relations, billing and accounting, and updating the external plant.

Rajagopalan told the meeting that customer relations was MTNLs weakest spot. Undoubtedly, this is a crucial area for retaining our customers, he added.

Emphasising that an attitudinal change needed to be brought about among the staff, Rajagopalan said, If we do not improve our services, we are bound to lose business once private competitors enter the market.

He confirmed that MTNLs board will be broadbased to represent customers interests properly.

Welcoming the partial autonomy given to the corporation, Rajagopalan said, It has increased our responsibility towards customers as well as the government.

Regarding shifting of telephones, fault repairing and new connections, Rajagopalan said MTNL would convey the details of the areas falling under technically non-feasible category through an advertisement in newspapers.

Some industrialists pointed out that MTNL advertised in the papers about the number of telephones released and confirmation letters were issued but telephones were not installed for months together as the areas were technically not feasible.

It was also suggested that the interface with the subscribers needed to be increased. Accordingly, MTNL chief general manager N K Dua has been asked to meet industrialist subscribers every three months.