New connection

Calcutta, Oct. 7: State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is hoping to double its 3G subscriber base in the Calcutta circle by September 2013 after entering into an alliance with tablet PC maker Pantel Technologies.

“3G growth has not been much in India. Through these devices (tablets) we are looking at having more customers, which will help us double the 3G base. For every four voice customers, there is one data customer for us. If the device sale is good, our 3G subscriber base at 40,000 could touch 60,000 by March and then double within six months after that,” said Somnath Maity, chief general manager of the Calcutta circle, BSNL.

Last week, Pantel launched a tablet PC priced below Rs 4,000. It now has four 3G-enabled tablets in its portfolio.

According to Vivek Prakash, director of Pantel Technologies, the company will sell around 10,000 tablets a month in Bengal. “When we launched the tablet in February, we thought the market size was about 5,000 units a month. Today, we are selling 50,000 units a month (across the country). The education segment in the eastern region is very large and will be the main buyer.”

The Bengal circle has around 60,000-70,000 3G customers and with the tablet, another 20,000 may be added by March.

BSNL, whose landline customer base at 10 lakh has not seen much growth in the circle, is targeting 50,000 additional subscribers in the next one year, the majority of which is expected to opt for a broadband connection.

“The reach of broadband is increasing, and landline connections will now grow with IT hubs and housing complexes coming up at Rajarhat. Broadband has been growing at the rate of 2,500 customers per month,” he said.

BSNL is also looking at upgrading its its landline network within 2-3 years in phases. The next generation network (NGN) will enable customers to enjoy video calling on land phones besides supporting voice and data services. “About 20 per cent of the network will be upgraded in the first phase and the process will be completed in 2-3 years,” Maity said.

Meanwhile, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal in an interim order has asked BSNL not to hike infrastructure charges retrospectively from April 2009. It also did not agree with BSNL’s submission that under the agreement, the PSU could raise the charges from time to time.