Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) Goa circle said that the demand for online services spiked during the lockdown period as users connected to the virtual world for professional and personal use. The operator that maintains 144 telephone exchanges in the state said that broadband consumption during the lockdown period increased 31% while the mobile data consumption increased 24% in the same period. BSNL Goa circle highlighted that the entire banking sector in the state was operational on the BSNL network and that necessary steps were taken to ensure efficient network services were provided.
BSNL Engaged in Constant Monitoring of Telecom Services
The operator said that the telecom services were constantly monitored to ensure telecom services were not disrupted during the lockdown period.
“The faults were attended even in very difficult conditions to ensure efficiency of telecom services,” BSNL Goa said in a release.
The telecom services to essential units including Raj Bhavan, Chief Minister Office, Hospitals along with electricity and water departments were also said to be constantly monitored to ensure “smooth conduct” of the state government functions.
“During the lockdown period telephone and internet services have become the umbilical cords for the citizens to the outside world,” BSNL Goa said in the release. “Demand for online services both for professional and entertainment needs skyrocketed during the lock down period [sic].”
Further, the operator highlighted that its cloud based video conferencing solution was offered for no additional cost to its enterprise and retail customers.
BSNL Focuses on Work at Home Plans
BSNL in the release highlighted its Work at Home plan that was unveiled during the initial days COVID-19 lockdown. The Work at Home plan enabled users to browse upto 5 GB of daily data at 10 Mbps speed. The complimentary internet plan was initially valid till April 14 but the state-owned PSU extended the plan till May 19 and further to June 21.
The operator also said that a Bharat Fiber broadband plan with complimentary access to Hotstar was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan priced at Rs 749 enabled users to browse at 50 Mbps speed till 300 GB with BSNL capping the speed to 2 Mbps upon reaching the limit.
