SHRI MAHAJAN LAUNCHES BSNL'S BRAND NAME 'CELL-ONE FOR CELLULAR SERVICES

INITIATION OF BSNL'S INTERNET TELEPHONY 'WEBFONE'

NEW POSTAL SERVICE CALLED 'MEGHDOOT POST CARD' LAUNCHED

PILOT PROJECT ON MOBILE POSTMAN UNVEILED

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The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Communications and IT, Shri Pramod Mahajan today launched the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)’s brand name ‘CellOne’ for its country-wide cellular service. Also launched was the BSNL’s pre-paid cellular services called ‘Ex-Cell’. Together with this, the Minister also launched its Internet Telephony service under the brand name ‘WebFone’. Announcing a series of initiatives, the Minister complimented BSNL for the new services and said that in this world of communication, what matters most was the quality of service coupled with the price. He said that BSNL’s cellular service would be launched by 2^nd October, and it would be its endeavour to cover 850 cities across the country by 25^th December this year. In this regard, the Minister also mentioned that it would be BSNL’s target to cover all district centres through cellular services by 1^st April, 2003. During his address, the Minister also outlined the roll-out plan for WLL connectivity with respect to the SDCAs in the country. It would be BSNL’s objective to reach out to every SDCA with WLL connectivity by 2^nd September, 2003. Shri Mahajan also outlined the roadmap for MTNL’s expansion both for its Dolphin and Garuda services. The effort was to make connectivity accessible to the customer at an affordable price.

The Minister also unveiled the ‘Meghdoot Post Card Services’ at a subsidised rate of 0.25 paise. Launching the new postal service, Shri Mahajan said that Meghdoot Card was priced at half the cost of the existing post card. Currently, the normal post cards cost 0.50 paise. While launching the post card, the Minister said that this particular launch would open a new chapter for printed publicity. Calling upon potential partners, Shri Mahajan said that this initiative would enable the Indian industry to reach out to the far flung corners of the country through a well-organised national postal network. The Minister also mentioned that the postal sector offered vast opportunities for investment and collaboration by corporates. The entire exercise aimed at generating revenue for the postal sector which was extremely necessary in the current context as a lot of services remain subsidised. Shri Mahajan also announced the pilot project ‘Gramin Sanchar Sewak’ – Mobile Postman services on behalf of the Department of Posts. This pilot project would enable connectivity to the rural doorsteps of the country. Initially, the project would be applicable to 2000 Gramin Dak Sewaks working in Village Post Offices in the country.

Outlining the future policy prescriptions, Shri Mahajan said that the Village Public Telephone (VPT) programme of the Government could enter its second phase with a focus on VPTs with fax machines. The objective was to provide Data Access to the users in the rural areas. It has been our experience that the rural folk are keen to have access to data communication rather than voice communication. Also necessary was the need to address issues within the ambit of conflict resolution concerning the telecom sector. It was extremely necessary to tackle problems in this regard in order to facilitate cost-effective services and accessibility to the people.