BSNL too offers per-second billing
Vivek Seal. New Delhi
State-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has announced it would offer per-second billing plan to customers.
Kuldeep Goyal, chairman & managing director at BSNL, said this new tariff would be applicable for local and STD calls and would not enforce any restriction on total usage or monthly rental.
BSNL also launched another plan which would offer local and STD calls to any network at 49 paise per minute and would be applicable to all 2G and 3G networks. It also announced a lower tariff 3G services plan, under which voice calls would be charged at 30 paise per minute.
Several telecom operators such as Vodafone, Airtel, Reliance and Aircel have already introduced per-second billing plans.
"It took us longer time to offer this plan compared to other operators as the implication of this tariff on our sales are huge. I expect that higher minute usage by customers would more than compensate for the loss in sales due to lower tariffs," Goyal said.
Meanwhile, Goyal added that BSNL is not looking to call for new bids for a 93 million GSM line order. "We have not placed any order yet, and we are not contemplating on re-tendering the GSM order as of now," Goyal added.
Media reports had suggested that the department of telecommunications (DoT) had asked BSNL to evaluate re-tendering of the GSM order as lack of competition would curtail BSNL from aggressively negotiating on deal pricing.
However, Goyal confirmed BSNL has ordered 8 million 2G GSM lines from Chinese firm Huawei, which would be put up in the southern Indian states. He also said that Ericsson has been short listed for providing lines in the northern and eastern states.
The government has earlier hinted that it would divest some stake in public sector units (PSUs), including BSNL, to raise funds. "I have heard the news, but I have not received any information from government yet. I do not have any timeframe as to when they decide to divest the stake in BSNL," Goyal added.

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