BSNL to invest Rs 3,000 crore in AP circle

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will be investing Rs 3,000 crore in its AP circle during the current financial year, said circle’s chief general manager (telecommunications) TN Sudhindra Kumar.

“The investment will go into creation of infrastructure to support the increasing demand for our broadband, landline and cellular services, and purchase and installation of equipment for our 3G services – which will be rolled out this November,” Kumar told Business Standard.

Kumar said the public sector telecommunications company had over 300,000 broadband connections and enjoyed a 57 per cent market share in the AP circle. There is still a long waiting list for broadband services, especially from urban and semi-urban areas, he said. “About 85 per cent of our exchanges in rural areas are extending broadband connections and we are making efforts to increase the penetration further.”

BSNL, to mark its ninth formation day on Thursday, launched a plethora of value-added services for its 3.8 million cellular subscribers in the AP circle. These include Song of the Day, Profile RBT (ringback tone), Copy Via SMS and Mobile Advertising Service.