Question : TONING UP FUNCTIONING OF TELECOM SECTOR

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)

(a) Sir, total number of telephone subscribers of BSNL and MTNL as on 30-06-2005 are given below:

(In lakhs)

Landline	WLL	Mobile	Total
BSNL	355.47	16.94	102.51	474.92
MTNL	39.02	2.40	11.13	52.55

(b) BSNL and MTNL have taken following steps to improve the telecom services and provide telephone connections on demand:

(i) Introduction of Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) systems to cover large rural areas.


(ii) Provision of Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS) based centralized fault booking at Short Distance Charging Centers (SDCCs) and Long Distance Charging Centers (LDCCs).

(iii) Introduction of more RSUs/DLCs to reduce cable length resulting reduction of faults due to cables.

(iv) Upgradation of external plants including poleless activity to improve the performance of outdoor network.

(v) Conversion of C-DOT 256 into AN-RAX and SBMs into RSUs.

(vi) Addition of mobile switching capacity wherever needed.

(vii) Expansion of GSM network of 15 million lines to further improve coverage and provide connections on demand.

(viii) Large scale deployment of WLL network in rural areas to provide telephone connections on demand.

(ix) Launch of broadband services at very attractive tariffs.