THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) & (b) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was established under the TRAI Act, 1997 as a statutory regulatory body mandated, inter-alia, to regulate the telecommunication services, protect the interests of service providers and consumers of the telecom sector, to promote and ensure orderly growth of the telecom sector, etc. The performance of TRAI has been assessed in terms of existing Act governing the Authority in tune with prevailing telecom scenario and modification to suit the requirement by amending the TRAI Act is being considered.
(c) & (d) The Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) are both providing satisfactory telecom services in their licensed service areas, in general, meeting the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters prescribed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Details of the connections surrendered vis-a-vis new connection provided (gross) during 2015-16 with respect to landline and mobile service of MTNL and BSNL are given below: -
<pre>
Year 2015-16 MTNL (in millions) BSNL (in millions)
Surrendered New connections (Gross) Surrendered New connections (Gross)
Landline 0.11 0.14 2.85 1.2
Mobile (GSM) 0.17 0.31 10.56 20.54
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BSNL and MTNL are making relentless efforts to improve their service and network connectivity. Some of the steps being taken by BSNL and MTNL in this direction are as follows:
BSNL
• Plans to install 11,340 numbers of 3G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) and 13,926 numbers of 2G BTSs under Phase-VII GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) expansion for 15 Million lines. Out of the planned BTSs, 11,242 (3G) BTSs and 13,791 (2G) BTSs have become operational as on 31/05/2016. This has improved 2G and 3G network coverage and data capability of 3G network.
• 2500 Wi-Fi hotspots have been provided at 1200 locations to enable fast and seamless data connectivity.
• Implemented ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) as one of the important IT initiative in all circles.
• During the current Five Year Plan (2012-17), BSNL has plans to make the entire wire line customer base network IP enabled. Next Generation Network (NGN) equipment based on the latest architecture are planned to be deployed gradually to replace the entire Circuit Switched equipments/ Digital Telephone Exchanges.
• Setup wireline call centres for all of its customers of landline and broadband at Dehradun, Ajmer and Bangalore.
• Launched various customer centric initiatives like Night free calling from landline from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am, Free incoming calls while roaming, increased minimum speed of broadband to 2 Mbps etc.
• Based on Government policy on Virtual Network Operator (VNO), BSNL has plans for optimum utilization of its network.
MTNL
• Plans to upgrade the existing data speeds over wireless network.
• Investment for up-gradation / augmentation / expansion of existing 2G/3G network.
• Plans to provide the backhaul media connectivity of existing mobile tower sites in Delhi and Mumbai on Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) network in place of Microwave network.
• MTNL is also exploring synergy with BSNL for its mobile services.
• Set up of wireline call centers for the customers of landline, mobile and broadband at Delhi and Mumbai.
• Launched Night free calling from landline from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am.
• To reduce call drops steps such as revised frequency plan, testing with IP Tool, reinforcing of network, etc. have been undertaken.
• MTNL has plans for optimum utilization of its network based on Virtual Network Operator (VNO) policy.
• Enhancement of broadband speed from 512 Kbps to 2 Mbps for better satisfaction of customers.
• Rollout of Wi Fi facility to provide broadband service
• Generation of additional revenue through sharing of passive infrastructure.
• Sharing of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) infrastructure with private telecom service providers.
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