Lok Sabha Question No. 609 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-20
Subject: Telecom Services of PSUs
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT, LAXMAN GILUWA, SATYA PAL SINGH, HARISHCHANDRA DEORAM CHAVAN, KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.609 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 TH  JULY, 2016

## TELECOM SERVICES OF PSUs

- †609.   SHRI ARVIND SAWANT:

SHRI LAXMAN GILUWA:

SHRI SATYAPAL SINGH:

SHRI HARISHCHANDRA CHAVAN:

SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  reviewed  the  efficacy  of  Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of India in achieving its objectives;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  telecom  services  provided  by  Mahanagar  Telephone  Nigam  Limited  and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited are not upto the satisfaction level of the consumers and a large number of customers are surrendering their connections; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government to improve their services and network connectivity?

## ANSWER

## 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: -

| Year         | MTNL (in millions)   | MTNL (in millions)      | BSNL (in millions)   | BSNL (in millions)      |
|--------------|----------------------|-------------------------|----------------------|-------------------------|
| 2015-16      | 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                   |

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

## MTNL

- 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.
- 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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