'We plan to spend Rs 500 crore in FY 2006-07'
                                      -Peeyush Khare, GM, marketing & business development, BSNL (Gujarat circle)

What is the present status of BSNL network in Gujarat circle?
We are number two in GSM but we soon plan to be number one with our expansion plans. On the GSM front, we have a total subscriber base of 850,000 of which prepaid is around 650,000 whereas postpaid is around 200,000. Nationally, BSNL's market share in mobile is around 19% but in Gujarat, it is 4% more than the national average. In terms of channel spread, BSNL has a large reach of 54,000 touch points. In terms of breakup, the company has 90 franchisees, 720 sub-franchisee, 2,651 retailers, and 49,866 STD PCOs. And all these channels, do sell BSNL products in different regions.

In basic phone, we have a market share of around 82% and it is around 6% higher than our national average of around 76%. This is extremely good, since private operators are not interested in basic services. On the other hand, BSNL has been building infrastructure for both urban and rural ie remunerative areas plus non-remunerative areas. In broadband, we have a capacity of around 45,000 points and we have provided around 35,000 connections. In terms of VPT coverage, BSNL covers 14,000 of 18,637 villages. On non-voice front, we have done pretty well. The company has sold 5,000 circuits of 64 Kbps and 1,000 circuits of 2 Mbps and above. And all this is supported by state-wide OFC infrastructure of around 35,600 Kms.

What are your expansion plans in FY 2006-07?
In FY 2005-06, we have invested in excess of around Rs 500 crore and we plan to spend a similar amount in FY 2006-07. We plan to add one mn GSM lines within next four months. So, in terms of BTS expansion, we plan to move from 800 BTS and 2 MSCs to 2,000 BTS and 4 MSCs. MSCs will be set up in Ahemdabad, Baroda, Surat, and Rajkot. This will help in increasing our market share from 23% to around 50%, as there is a lot of demand which is still unfulfilled both on the voice plus data side. Within 6 months, we plan to double our broadband capacity from 45,000 to 90,000 points and we plan to cover all district headquarters and all taluqas. In terms of VPT coverage, we plan to cover all villages by FY 2006-07.    

How do you see telecom services in Gujarat?  
In terms of investment, Gujarat is a good state as there is a lot of cooperation between different government departments. So, companies in IT/ITeS sector have started focusing on Gujarat along with other verticals. In terms of future demand, the industrial climate is fine for basic, broadband, and mobile services. Presently, broadband is low if one compares developed economies but it is just a beginning as there is lot of untapped potential.

There is a lot of demand in all the categories and we are gearing ourselves to cater to the demand.

Recently, the company has bagged a large deal on mobile services. What is this deal all about?
Recently, BSNL has bagged a large deal from state government undertakings whereby all state government employees  will opt for BSNL mobile services. This is a very big achievement for BSNL as the process took around 6 months and lot of persuasion at different levels. Presently, around 1,000 connections have been awarded to BSNL and plans are for achieving 50,000 post-paid connections within 2-3 months. In terms of revenue, BSNL is expected to generate a revenue of Rs 20 crore per annum and plans are afoot for setting up a separate unit to handle this project.

What are the customer initiatives presently active in Gujarat circle?   
For corporates, we have account-holder concept who handles all types of services be it voice and data on a regular basis. We also try to educate our customers about suitability of a particular plan with their business requirements so that there is a lot of stickiness with BSNL. We try to analyze call center data and try to sort it out at the earliest. If there is a need, we try to escalate problems to appropriate levels.

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