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BSNL Launches Rs 144 Unlimited Calling Pack for Prepaid, Postpaid Subscribers

In a bid to attract more customers towards itself, government-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) in India has launched an unlimited calling pack (local and STD) at Rs 144. The plan has been launched initially for a period of 6 months. It will offer unlimited calls to any network for one month, along with 300 MB data. With this new plan, BSNL aims to make a comeback into business ahead of Reliance Jio’s commercial launch in April this year.

BSNL said it is currently working on its plan to launch 4,400 WiFi hotspots across the country.

“We have 4,400 WiFi hotspots launched countrywide. I think in Mahabalipuram near Chennai has a similar WiFi hotspots. Our immediate strategy is to expand this. In next one year, we will be having around 40,000 WiFi Hotspots across the country,” BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Srivastava said.

According to Mr Srivastava, BSNL has bought 2500 Mhz bandwidth from government, and now the company will be unveiling BSNL LTE (Long Term Evolution) services in phased manner to expand their network in rural areas.

Founded in October 2000, and headquartered in New Delhi, BSNL is an Indian state-owned telecommunications company which offers fixed line and mobile telephony, Internet, and digital television services to its customers. Prior to creation of BSNL, telecom services in India were being provided by Central Government Departments of Telecom Services (DTS) and Telecom Operations (DTO).

Today, with more than 60% market share, BSNL is the largest provider of fixed telephony and broadband services in India. It is also the fifth largest mobile service provider in the country. As of June 2015, BSNL had a customer base of 93.29 million, which is spread all across India except New Delhi and Mumbai, which are managed by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).

BNSL provides GSM cellular mobile services in India under the brand name Cellone. It also provides MPLS, P2P and Internet leased lines to business. BSNL also uses its wide optical fiber network and CDMA technology to offer fixed-line telephony services. Other value-added services provided include Free Phone Service, India Telephone Card, Account Card Calling, Virtual Private Network, Premium Rate Service, and Universal Access Number. The IPTV service offered by BSNL allows customers to watch their favorite TV programs through internet and VVoIP.  BSNL also provides Fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband service to subscribers. This fastest broadband service can offer up to 100Mbps speed to the Internet users.