BSNL to Launch 3G service by Oct

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Coimbatore, has announced that the 3G technology in its mobile phone services will be launched by the end of October, Principal General Manager of BSNL, P.T. Mathew said on Friday.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Mathew said that the soft launch of the 3G services will be done first. Mobile subscribers have been already asked to register for availing the services by calling 94875 80000 or by sending an SMS 3G to 53733. Mr. Mathew addressed the media on the plans of the BSNL along with G. Muralidharan, General Manager (Operations), K. Francis Jacob, Deputy General Manager (Planning), R. Pandian, Deputy General Manager (Telecom Revenue), S. Karthikeyan, Deputy General Manager (Finance) and S. Chinnasamy, Deputy General Manger (Administration).

For BSNL mobile subscribers who are facing indoor coverage issue, calls to their mobile phones could be diverted to a chosen landline number, free of cost. The facility is launched with effect from September 18.BSNL was keenly focusing on promoting its broadband services.As of now, broadband services are available on demand in more than 161 exchanges serving 45,000 customers. BSNL also intends to release another 25,000 new broadband connections during this year and tariff plans are available from Rs. 99.

On the mobile front, BSNL at present has 313 GSM Base Transmission Stations (BTS) and it proposes to add 242 new GSM BTS sites during the current year to have carpet coverage throughout Coimbatore and Tirupur. BSNL Coimbatore will be providing 1.5 lakh new mobile connections during this year.

On the performance front, Mr. Mathew said that the trend of landline connections being surrendered has decreased substantially since subscribers feel the necessity for a landline connection for broadband. During the current year alone, 50,000 new Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards have been issued and 25,000 new landline connections have been released.BSNL has plans to open new exchanges for Information Technology Park at Peelamedu and two more exchanges for new gated community residential colonies that are coming up around Coimbatore.

Mr. Mathew also announced the launch of facilities for fault booking by sending SMS to 94422-94423. The customer could type FLT space and the STD code of the area and the faulty phone number. To know the current bill status, they could type BILL space STD code of the area and then the number.Focus is also on promoting the newly introduced Gulf country Call Now cards that offers ISD at Rs. 4 and Rs. 4.25 to destinations in Middle East.

Payment of landline bills could be done through VISA debit cards and subscribers could avail 5 per cent cash back offer.Customers paying their bills online at www.bsnl.co.in or www.tamilnadu.bsnl.co.in are entitled to one per cent discount.Another mode of payment has been introduced wherein payment through Electronic Clearance Scheme (ECS) would fetch one per cent discount besides voluntary deposit scheme (advance payment) wherein the payment would fetch 7 per cent interest.

Sale of CDMA WLL EVDO cards with 2.4 mbps are being promoted and the services are now available at Race Course, Ganapathy, Ram Nagar, Peelamedu, Saravanampatty, Kovaipudur, Kurichi, Thudialur, Periyanaickenpalayam, Cheran Maanagar, Mettuppalayam, Udumalpet. The services would be soon launched at Navavur pirivu, Selvapuram, Sai Baba Colony, Somanur, Navakkarai, Arulpuram, Tirupur main, PP Pudur and Pollachi main.Mr. Mathew said that in rural areas broadband connections under Universal Service Obligation Fund with two plans Rural USOF 99 and Rural USOF 150 without security deposit, installation fee, registration charges and modem charges.

In Coimbatore 23 rural exchanges in the first phase and 30 exchanges in the second phase would get this scheme and tie-up for the same had been entered into with Nova PC and HCLThe man power is also being subjected to training to bring in an attitudinal change, he added. For complaints, aggrieved subscribers could send mails to pg.cbt@bsnl.co.in

Reliance Mobile launched BIGMaps

Reliance Mobile has launched BIGMaps service on its GSM network. It allows search across Business, Directions, Events and Movies by organising local information on a pan-India basis. At present it’s available on mobile through SMS, WAP and downloads. Plans are afoot to offer the service through internet in the near future.

Reliance Mobile intends to offer world-class local search platform for India with maps data across 15 zoom levels and real time landmark based routing.Once public beta is opened on web, the platform will allow rich mobile-web experience

BSNL to supply Free SIM cards

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Coimbatore has announced free supply of mobile prepaid Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards i.e., Tamil Nadu Vasantham and Tamil Nadu Anant.

Top-up voucher

Subscribers while availing themselves of the free SIM cards should purchase minimum top-up voucher for Rs 55 and get talk time for Rs 55.The offer is valid up to August 31 , a release from the BSNL said. Prospective customers should contact the BSNL authorised franchisees and retailers. Top-up coupons at lower denominations for Rs. 10 and Rs. 20 have been introduced with effect from August 20.

Twenty per cent additional talk time is allowed to the recharge vouchers and top-up coupons of maximum retail price of Rs. 550 and above.This offer is also valid till August 31, the release said.

TCL Expecting Huge Biz From Coimbatore

Tata Communications Ltd (TCL) sees huge potential in tier-II and tier-III cities in the country largely with Small and Medium Enterprises. Mr. Cherian Thomas, General Manager and National Head-Channel, TCL, told reporters in Coimbatore that the economic slow down had not affected the company. TCL was present in all regions of the country and the growth pattern was quite uniform. The company has now shifted focus to tier-II and tier-III cities, he said. The company was now focussing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the buying capacity was expected to go up from 35 per cent to 55 per cent of the total market in next five years. The IT and ITES segments have been major buyers of the network services but the growth had not been on the rise.

The company has planned to increase the number of channel partners. In Tamil Nadu, TCL, which has been providing its services in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirupur, is expanding to Salem, Erode and Vellore in the next phase. In Coimbatore and Tirupur, the company foresaw huge opportunities for its basket of services. He said Coimbatore and Tirupur were very critical markets for TCL.

BSNL Bill date change !

BSNL, Coimbatore, has announced changes in bill dates for landline and PCO subscribers.

A release from BSNL says that the bill date of all PCO franchisees has been changed from the 3rd of every month to the 6th of every month. The bill date for all landline BSNL customers has been changed from the 5th of every month to the 7th. Change will take effect from June 2009. There is no change in the billing schedule and frequency. For details contact the Accounts Officer (Computer), Coimbatore at 2437750; Accounts Officer (STD-PT) at 0422-2450088; and Accounts Officer (TR), Tirupur, at 0421-2201650/2206000.

All BSNL cash counters, customer service centres and mobile customer care centres of Coimbatore Secondary Switching Area are accepting bill payments by cash, DD and cheque till 5 p.m. on all working days, the press release adds.

KRIBHCO Reliance JV

KRIBHCO (Krishak Bharati Co-operative Limited) and Reliance Communications Infrastructure have forged a rural marketing joint venture to bridge the urban–rural divide.KRIBHCO Reliance Kisan Limited, the joint venture company, will market telecom and non-telecom products and services covering 72 per cent of the population across the country.

“KRIBHCO has been in the forefront in catalysing agricultural and rural development by selecting, financing and managing socially desirable and commercially feasible ventures and initiatives. This joint venture will result in providing each and every product/service in rural India on a par with urban India,” said B.D. Sinha, Managing Director of KRIBHCO.

Distribution model

The company would create a distribution model through its network of over 25,000 cooperatives, 6,300 member cooperatives and 60 Krishi Seva Kendras.The company would emerge as one of the most significant milestones in enhancing the rural tele density in the country, said S.P. Shukla, president – Wireless, Reliance Communications. “Over and above the state-of-the-art and most-affordable range of GSM and CDMA services, Reliance Communications would soon be unveiling a wide range of products and value added services customised for the rural markets,” he added.

KRIBHCO would hold 60 per cent equity in the company with the balance 40 per cent held by Reliance ADAG.

BSNL launches Vasantham !

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced the introduction of a promotional prepaid plan with a validity period of one year for mobile customers titled “Vasantham”.

A release from the BSNL said that cost of the of the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) would be Rs. 150 inclusive of tax and would have a free talk time of Rs. 50. Local call to BSNL network would be 60 paise per minute, local call to other network would be 70 paise per minute, night calling happy hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. would be 20 paise per minute. STD call to BSNL network would be Re 1 per minute, STD calls to other networks would be Rs. 1.50 per minute, free SMS would be Rs. 250 per month, friends and family talk would be 30 paise per minute. Cards are available for sale at Mobile Customer Care Centre. For details phone numbers: 2448840, 2306600, 2454545 and 2437600 could be contacted.

BSNL road show

BSNL Coimbatore is organising a road show at the following locations: Bharathi Colony telephone exchange (June 4), Mettuppalayam telephone exchange (June 5), Sai Baba Colony telephone exchange (June 6), Ganapathy telephone exchange (June 8), Ramnagar exchange (June 9) and Sulur exchange (June 10). Prospective customers are requested to make use of the road show to avail the offer and discounts

Airtel Airtel opens rural service centre at Pappampatti

Airtel, as part of its rural penetration initiative, has opened its first Airtel Service Centre (ASC) at Pappampatti in Coimbatore District recently.The ASC was inaugurated by J. Balakrishnan, Zonal Business Manager, Coimbatore Zone, in the presence of Panchayat Chairman Sathyabama.

A release from Airtel said that the cellular service provider as on date was covering 95 per cent of the population in Coimbatore Zone which comprises eight districts with 430 operational ASCs. By the end of the fiscal 2009-10, Airtel would have 1,000 ASCs operational.

The ASCs would provide a bouquet of information on Airtel products and services, helps in removing barriers towards mobility, handling customer queries and complaints, reducing rural calls per customer.

The ASCs would serve the rural customers by selling connections, replacing damaged or lost Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards, recharge – information and educate customers on self serve options to get the best value recharge and offers, value added services promoting and selling relevant Value Added Services (VAS) and educating them and enquiry to handle customer queries and complaints.

Idea launch service in TN !

Indian cellcos Idea Cellular and Aircel have announced the launch of commercial services in new regions. Idea has announced that it has launched it GSM-based services in Tamil Nadu, with initial coverage of more than 130 towns across the state, according to the Business Standard. The operator has said that most of the region’s main towns are covered, including Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Salem, Tirupur, Erode and Vellore, and it expects to spend approximately INR10 billion (USD212 million) on further expanding its footprint by 2011. Idea has also revealed plans to construct a network of 2,400 base stations by March 2010 in the Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka regions, rising to 2,600 sites in operation by March 2011. The cellco expects to have a pan-India presence by the end of 2009, with launches expected in the West Bengal, Calcutta, Assam and North Eastern circles by that date.

Rival cellco Aircel meanwhile has expanded its regions of operation to Mumbai, having made an estimated INR5.5 billion investment in the circle. Aircel has set aside around INR10 billion for nationwide expansion and it is expected to utilise the funds to roll out services in a six more states in the coming year; Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. It also expects to double the number of base stations it has to 40,000 by the end of 2009.

Consumer forum slaps fine on cell phone firm

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Coimbatore, has slapped fine on Vodofone cellular firm and Citibank credit cards for deficiency in service leading to mental agony for a cellular phone subscriber.M. Raja Paranthaman of Ram Nagar, a subscriber of Vodafone, had moved the consumer court with a complaint under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act holding Vodafone and Citibank Credit Cards as first and second respondents.

Bill amount

The complaint was that the first opposite party Vodafone had issued a tie-up with Citibank credit cards in April 2006 and started collecting the bill amount from the credit card account every month without the consent of the subscriber.Mr. Paranthaman stated that on the very first month on seeing the mobile phone statement and credit card statement in August 2006, he asked the cellular firm not to collect money from Citibank credit cards.

Request

Not withstanding the request, the cellular firm went ahead with the practice of billing the subscriber to his credit card account.In July 2008, Mr. Paranthaman received a letter asking him to appear before the Lok Adalat.It also asked him to pay Rs. 17,231.

The complainant marked all the documents as evidence. But both the respondents failed to turn up and the consumer forum issued orders ex-parte.It passed an order directing the first opposite party to pay Rs. 7,729 and directed both the opposite parties to pay a sum of Rs. 20,000 to the complainant for negligence in service.

The forum also asked the parties to pay Rs. 500 each towards the cost of the complainant within one month from May 1 failing which the complainant is at liberty to execute the orders under Sections 25 and 27.

New ‘booster packs’ from Airtel

Airtel Cellular service provider has launched four new booster pack options based on the usage pattern of prepaid customers.

Local Airtel to Airtel calls will be charged at 10 paise and other mobiles at 50 paise and STD is Re 1 for Rs. 123 per month with 30 days validity. Under the second option, customers can call local mobile at 50 paise per minute for Rs. 69 per month with 90 days validity.

They can call any local mobile at 50 paise between 10 p.m. and 6 p.m. (20 hours) for Rs. 22 per month with 30 days validity.under the fourth scheme, they can call any local Airtel to Airtel at 20 paise and other mobiles at 50 paise for Rs. 74 per month and with 30 days validity, a release says.

BSNL announces Current Meter reading facility

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Coimbatore, has announced the introduction of “Free automatic current meter reading facility” in a number of exchanges.

According to a press release issued by BSNL here, the facility has been introduced in telephone exchanges attached to the Ganapathy EWSD telephone exchange, Race Course, Pappanaickenpalayam, Ukkadam, Sanganur, Arasur, Podanur, Sai Baba Colony (DLC level 2458), Narashimanaickenpalayam, Gandhimaanagar, Isha, Tatatad II, R.S. Puram, Peelamedu (levels 2580/2582), Karunya Nagar, Madampatti, Thondamuthur, Sircarsamakulam, Saravanampatti, Kurichi, Sulur (level 2683/2684), Amrita, Ettimadai and Kuniamuthur.

BSNL landline customers who want to know their current meter reading (i.e. usage) could dial 19621 (English) or 19622 (Tamil). The service is offered free of charge to subscribers, the release added.

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Airtel Withdraws 95 Dialling Facility

Bharti Airtel, landline service provider has announced the decision to withdraw 95 dialling facility for long distance calls on its fixed line service as per the directive from the Department of Telecom. The facility stands withdrawn from March 9. A release from Airtel said that Airtel’s fixed line customers would now be able to call the telephone numbers (earlier accessed through 95) by activating the STD facility and by dialling the STD code of the destination prefixed with 0.

Airtel is also providing its customers the convenience of not activating their STD facility but continuing to access the cities, which are within 500 km of a telecom circle and less than 50 km of adjoining Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA). They need to dial the STD code prefixed with zero. To access numbers outside the perimeter, the customers would have to activate the STD facility by calling 121 from the Airtel fixed line number. The customers will be continued to be billed for all calls as per the prevailing tariff.

BSNL Mela

The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is conducting a super mega mela on March 12 and 13 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Sabari Nest (Nilgiris Nest) on Avanashi Road, Coimbatore and at Pollachi near the telephone exchange. In the mela, BSNL services like sale of CDMA USB Data cards, GSM data cards, FLPP cards, mobile prepaid and postpaid SIM cards all types of recharge coupons, booster cards, ITC, Call Now cards and bookings for new WLL phone connections, landline connections, broadband connections, new PCOs and reconnection and other service related activities are made available to the customers.

More details could be had from the Marketing Cell at phone number 2437600, 2437402 and 2454545. Due to administrative reasons, the pay-by-date of PCO bill dated March 3 is extended from March 11 to March 16, another release from BSNL said.

BSNL Changed Pulse Rate

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Coimbatore, has announced changes in tariff and pulse rate in respect of inter-circle and intra-circle calls. Intra circle calls for more than 50 km distance from BSNL phone to other fixed and wireless in local loop phones (except 10 digit numbers) will be 120 seconds.

Inter circle calls up to 50 km within BSNL network or other networks will be 120 seconds. For more than 50 km, the new pulse rate for inter circle calls will be 120 seconds. The revised tariff is also applicable for BSNL One India and alternate plans and trunk calls.

RCom launches GSM Mobile services in Coimbatore

Reliance Communications ( RCom) announced the launch of its GSM services in Coimbatore and extended its Customer Experience Programme (CEP) in the region.

The company is offering its lifetime validity for Rs 35, the first recharge being priced at Rs 60.

“The Reliance Mobile GSM entails offering a unique value proposition fine-tuned as per the needs of every segment of over 250 Million GSM customers market in the country”, said Mr. Ajay Awasthi, CEO – Tamil Nadu circle, Reliance Communications.

“The Customer Experience Programme, Reliance Mobile GSM’s first offering, is in line with Reliance Communications’ Philosophy of making world-class telephony services accessible and affordable to the masses”, he added.

CII's Connect Coimbatore-2009, will held on Feb 27

Connect Coimbatore, an annual Information Technology event, on February 27 organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore.

Ashok Bakthavathsalam, convenor of the ICT Panel of the CII, Coimbatore Zone, and Ravi Sam, Vice-Chairman of the CII, Coimbatore Zone, told presspersons here on Tuesday that in this ninth edition of ‘Connect Coimbatore’ the focus would be on ‘Innovative ICT for World-Class Enterprise.’

The three main sessions would be on ‘web as enablers of growth,’ ‘cost effective information and communication technology (ICT)’ and ‘emerging opportunities.’

P.W.C. Davidar, the IT secretary, would inaugurate the event and F. Pickhard, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions India would be the chief guest. Students, entrepreneurs and electronic data processing managers would participate.

The event would be a platform to improve awareness and enable sharing and networking innovative ICT technologies. It was important for the companies to learn how to harness information and communication technology to accelerate their business goals.

Dinamalar Office Attacked With Petrol Bomb

Some unidentified miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at the office of Dinamalar, a Tamil daily, on Madukarai Market Road at Sundarapuram late on Wednesday night. It is learnt that the attack was unleashed on the office premises in protest against the policy of the newspaper. The identity of the miscreants and the motive are under investigation. Security at the office has been stepped up.

Airtel Expands Its Service

Airtel, cellular service provider, has expanded its services in Coimbatore district by adding five new towns to its existing network. A press release from Rajiv Rajagopal, Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel Limited, Tamil Nadu, said that the new cell sites added are Kalipalayam, Oorapalayam, Velampalayam, Sevanthampalayam and Annur.