BSNL WiMax Technology

Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) is finally set to expand its venture by adding one more wireless technology under its belt. This time with the induction of WiMax Technology the telecom enterprise is really working cautiously by launching it on a pilot basis and there are subsequent plans for extending it to 20-30 locations in Maharashtra within a period of single year.

In order to tackle the problem of connectivity frequently faced by the consumers, the corporation has entered into agreements with seven private companies, who would raise infrastructure including telecom service towers for the BSNL across India. As far as Pune is concerned, there will be another 20 such towers erected this year in the city, in addition to the 180 existing ones. The Chief General Manager of BSNL Maharashtra Circle, Chandra Prakash told this to reporters on Saturday, who revealed company's plans on the occasion of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. Principal General Manager V K Mahindra was also present.

He said that the BSNL has recently crossed 2 lakh broadband subscribers in Maharashtra and is set to provide broadband connectivity to 4,900 exchanges across the country in the next half year. The target that BSNL has set for itself for expanding the broadband customer base is 20 million by 2010.

Chandra Prakash said, "This year, we will bridge as much coverage gaps as we can. We are planning to raise 3,500 service towers in a year in Maharashtra. However, there are a number of problems while constructing these towers, as we have to check twenty necessary documents and the whole procedure is tedious. Therefore we have struck a deal with seven private companies, who would raise infrastructure for us. The companies include, Tata, GTL Infrastructure, Essar, etc. In the first phase we decided to erect 90 such towers across the country, which are getting delayed due to some reasons."

"As far as the WiMax service is concerned we are going to set up 64 service providing stations across the state, in which major cities will be covered. Out of these, 20 to 30 would be raised this year," he said. At present, BSNL's total market share in mobile technology sector is 15 per cent, which is expected to soar to its double.b