Jalpaiguri, Oct. 3: The district residents have one more reason to celebrate during the coming festive season.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is likely to launch its cellular service here just before and in time for Diwali.
Gautam Kar, general manager of Jalpaiguri Telecom District, said: “Work for setting up the mobile phone network is going on. We hope to launch the service within this month.”
The BSNL, Jalpaiguri, has set its sights at around 5,000 connections during the initial stages.
Kar said the mobile network would be connected through Highway BTSs and City BTSs (Base Transmitting Stations). In Jalpaiguri, the BSNL is building up a web of transmitting stations to ensure smooth network.
BTSs are being set up at theMall, Mainaguri, Nagrakata, Alipurduar, Fatapukur, Falakata and Birpara. In the Jalpaiguri town, apart from the BTS at the main exchange, there will be two more stations at Raikatpara and at Surf More to provide trouble-free network to the users.
The BSNL is also gearing up to open new exchanges at Alipurduar Junction, Alipurduar Chowpathi, Raninagar, Mondalghat, Salsalabari, Salkumar Hat and at Dahukimari. The Nagrakata and the Hasimara exchanges will also be upgraded to main exchanges.
“It took some time but we didn’t hurry. We wanted that the launching should be done only after the total infrastructure is ready. The base stations are on the verge of completion,” Kar said.
“There are private mobile service providers and we have kept the tariff competitive enough to woo customers. Anybody with a BSNL connection even without a roaming facility can use his mobile anywhere in West Bengal Telecom district, something private operators do not provide,” Kar said. “There will also be pleasant surprises in store for the subscribers,” he added.
The BSNL is also keeping options open for other schemes it plans to introduce. “Users will have the choice to go for prepaid or post-paid cards,” Kar said. He, however, dispelled rumours of BSNL supplying the handset. “We will provide the SIM card just like other service providers.
Apart from the local distributor, who is likely to sell the mobile SIM card, the BSNL is also opening three Customer Care Nodes (CCN), two in Jalpaiguri, and one in Alipurduar.
The Jalpaiguri BSNL too, along with the remaining areas of the state, has launched the WLL (Wireless in Local Loop) Network in Jalpaiguri with rural areas as its target.
“The response has been quite good. As of now, there are about five hundred subscribers in the district using the WLL,” Kar said. “Judging by the way things are progressing, we can look forward to great interaction and service by the BSNL”, he added.
