Sunday, October 02, 2005

Dharwad Telecom District to set up 54 GSM towers

Dharwad Telecom District to set up 54 GSM towers
The Hindu

  • Broadband service to be launched in 19 towns
  • New OCB exchange to come up in Gadag
  • CDMA station being installed at Dharwad
  • Telecom district earns profit of Rs. 12.24 crores


HUBLI: Dharwad Telecom District of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited will commission an additional 54 GSM towers by the end of November to improve coverage.

Addressing presspersons on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of BSNL here on Saturday, D.S. Narendra, General Manager, Dharwad Telecom District, said of these towers, 13 will be in situated Hubli, seven in Dharwad and two each in Gadag, Haveri and Ranebennur.

The remaining will cover new towns and hoblis. The BSNL has already launched the Broadband (DataOne) service in Hubli-Dharwad and is planning to launch the service in another 19 towns in the telecom district, he said.

Mr. Narendra said that a new OCB Exchange with state-of-the-art technology is being installed at Gadag at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crores. And also a Modern Customer Service Centre is being set up at Gadag.

He said that a new software package called "Dot Soft" is being installed at Hubli at a cost of Rs. 3.25 crores. The software will enable fully integrated customer management, online telephone registration, online bill payment in 40 customer service centres and other related services, Mr. Narendra said.

In order the increase the CDMA network in north Karnataka, a CDMA station with 1 lakh lines capacity is being installed at Dharwad at a cost of Rs. 15 crores. When completed, the facility will improve the Wireless in local loop services in the telecom district. Apart from this, 11 towers are being installed throughout the district to provide better coverage in the rural areas, he said.

Mr. Narendra said that it has been decided to replace old telephone instruments of more than five years with new ones in case of customers with a monthly bill of Rs. 500 or more. He clarified that the facility will be extended to other customers in the next stage.

He said that steps are being taken to make the Pre-Paid (Excel) SIM cards available on demand. The customers have to register their names by paying Rs. 551 and based on the seniority list they will be provided the SIM card most probably within a week, he said.

Profit

The Telecom District, which comprises Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag district, has earned a profit of Rs. 12.24 crores in the financial year 2004-05, Mr. Narendra said. He said that steps have been taken to clear the rural waiting list.

S.A. Melmalagi, Deputy General Manager, informed about the steps taken to bridge the gap in the network coverage along the State Highways coming under the telecom district.

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