Telecom operator Reliance Communications is planning to roll out a third generation (3G) intra-circle roaming (ICR)-like agreement to continue 2G service in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam after its right to use 2G spectrum expires in December.

"RCom already has existing and valid ICR agreements with other telecom operators, predominantly Tata Teleservices and Aircel, to offer 2G global system for mobile (GSM) services to its customers in these three circles," a source privy to the development said.

State-run telecom operator BSNL aims to increase its revenues by almost 50 per cent to Rs.42,000 crore in the next four years as part of the Modi-government’s plan to turnaround the loss making firm by 2018-19.

The company’s revenues stood at Rs.28,000 crore during the last financial year (2014-15).

Over one crore broadband users of BSNL will be able to surf internet at a minimum speed of 2 mega bit per second as against existing speed of 512 kilo bit per second at the same cost.

Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the services in Gurgaon today. BSNL chairman Anupam Srivastava said, "we have increased the internet speed four times. We have ensured 2 mbps is available at the last mile, which is the customer premises."

In an effort to revive the loss-making telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved certain financial incentives for them, reports fe Bureau in New Delhi. Accordingly, it gave its nod to BSNL to hive off its towers into a separate company, which

would help it monetise it. In addition, both PSUs will get refunds for surrendering part of their CDMA spectrum that was put up for auction this year in March. The compensation works out to R169.16 crore for BSNL and R458.04 crore for MTNL. While the compensation for.

New Delhi, Aug. 3: GSM players have demanded that they may be given the right to enter into arrangements with state-run BSNL on spectrum sharing and roaming.

A letter by the GSM lobby group, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), to telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has stated that all "operators should be given equal opportunity to participate and enter into such arrangements with BSNL".

State-run telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will invest Rs.6,000 crore over the next three years to set up some 40,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the country, its chairman-cum-managing director Anupam Shrivastava has said.

"We are now thinking of rolling out wi-fi hotspot through capital expenditure model also. We are in the process of having our tender ready. We will be floating our tender and put our own equipment. We will be doing everything," Shrivastava told IANS in an interview.

If there was a time when India decisively moved from one set of aspirations to another, it was when mobile phones outmoded landlines and drew them to the verge of extinction. In the given circumstances, it was only fair for BSNL to try and revive the market for landlines. BSNL has announced a plan that offers free calling from its landlines during night hours to any operator in India (including mobile phones). The move comes at a time when the company’s mobile market share stands at a single digit (8%) and its landline business is shrivelling as more users opt for the convenience of mobile phones.

The decision on merging state-run BSNL and MTNL will be taken in the next four-five months, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said on Friday.

"BSNL, MTNL merger decision will be taken in four-five months after studying the IIM report on it," he said.

The Department of Telecommunications will soon move a Cabinet note to hive off state-run BSNL's towers into a separate company.

The new unit would have a valuation of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore. BSNL has about 71,000 towers across India. The company generated revenues of around Rs 200 crore from the tower business, which is expected to go up to Rs 2,000 crore once the new unit was set up.

State-run telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is in the process of undertaking an organisational and human resource (HR) restructuring in the company, in a bid to adapt with the changing times. This will also enable the public sector undertaking (PSU) to save over Rs 1,000 crore on an annual basis, once the new structure is put in place.

BSNL had hired Deloitte Consultancy for formulating the new structure, which was approved by the BSNL board recently.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.