Boston to help BSNL hive-off infra biz

Telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has appointed Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to help hive off its infrastructure business into a separate company to generate more revenues.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata today, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal said, “We intend to hive off our tower business into a separate company to generate more revenues. We have appointed BCG to evaluate the infrastructure business.”

The company also plans to bid for licences in Africa and West Asia in an attempt to expand its overseas reach, Goyal said. It is also looking at acquisitions in these countries.

“We are looking to expand beyond India. We are currently looking at Africa and West Asia, where telecom penetration is relatively low,” he informed.

BSNL is India's second-largest telecom firm after Bharti Airtel in terms of the total subscriber base, but in the fast-growing mobile telephony segment, it is ranked fourth. Earlier, BSNL had expressed its intention to go in for an initial public offering (IPO). “But the turmoil in the equity market and opposition from BSNL employees have put a brake on the IPO plans,” Goyal said.

This apart, to strengthen its overseas infrastructure link, BSNL has joined a seven company-consortium for an undersea cable Atlantic link.

Moreover, the equal share JV between BSNL and MTNL-promoted Millenium Telecom will also lay two undersea cable links, one for the East and another for the West.

The east cable link will be from India to Singapore and another to Europe.

“It's an equal joint venture between BSNL and Millenium. Earlier, BSNL had to pay Rs 300 crore towards this project, but now costs will be revised. Tenders will be floated in two months and the project deadline is about three years,” Goyal said.

BSNL also proposes to launch Blackberry services by March 2009.