BSNL banks on lease lines, broadband to up revenues

Telecom service provider BSNL, which has been constantly losing market share and revenues, is banking on lease lines and broadband connections to rake in revenues for the company.

BSNL, whose revenues dropped from Rs 701 crore during April-December 2008 to Rs 630 crore between April-December 2009, is looking at rolling out 3G services in all of Kolkata by the end of 2010.

A K Garg, CGM, Calcutta Telephones, said, “Our revenues have been falling because several landline connections have been discontinued. Also, tariffs have drastically dropped. We are also bullish on our lease lines business and broadband penetration to improve our connectivitiy. The company currently has more than 2 lakh broadband users in Kolkata. Average revenue per user (ARPU) from broadband for the company is around Rs 587. The company earned Rs 92 crore from broadband connections between April and December 2009, up from Rs 72 crore in the same period previous year.

However, the company’s landline subscribers dropped from 13.75 lakh in 2008 to 13.25 lakh in 2009.