New Delhi, July 24: Coral telecom has bagged a Rs 300 crore contract from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to supply voice and data electronic private branch exchange (EPABX) systems.

Under the EPABX system, services such as voice calls, video conferencing, voice mail and net connectivity would be provided by BSNL through its network.

An individual customer staying in a housing society can avail of this facility and pay a rental at Rs 50 per month against the normal Rs 150-200. If the subscriber wants a digital subscriber line (DSL) for Internet connection through the EPABX, the subscriber will have to pay a rental of Rs 180 per month (for 2 megabits speed). In addition, houses within the society can get free intercom connectivity.

BSNL plans to deploy more than one million of these EPABX systems by December 2005 at its customers’ premises, primarily commercial subscribers.

“We have finalised the commercial tariff for the services and posted it on our website,” Bharat Sanchar officials said.

The plan was envisaged by BSNL in 2002, but was unable to push it due to regulatory hurdles.

BSNL will give free demonstration of the state-of-the-art systems capable of providing both voice and high-speed data connectivity at the customers’ premises.

Promising a hassle-free service under the private exchange scheme, BSNL claimed that the installation, operations and maintenance of the entire system would be done by BSNL through vendors.

The state-run telecom service provider will give vendors about 20 per cent of the revenues generated through these high-end services for five years.

According to Coral Telecom managing director Rajesh Tuli, this scheme goes a long way in the efforts made by Bharat Sanchar to provide value-added services to its customers.

It also makes broadband connectivity a low-cost option for end users.