BSNL goes unethical on marketing; re-directs users to a promotional page

In a striking new development, BSNL users are getting re-directed to the company’s advertisement page mail.bsnl.in. Users are facing the trouble on all platforms and across all browsers.

• Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source
• 
• 

BSNL users have come up against the issue on Twitter, with many doubting it as a ‘hijacking’ issue. However, according to a BSNL user Suresh Nayak, Bangalore, the redirected page www.mail.bsnl.in is a marketing site to promote Enterprise Email Solution licensed to BSNL

On contacting BSNL, many are provided with the response that they can open a new tab in the browser and proceed with their browsing. Many have launched complaints officially and is awaiting solution.

If the case is found to be true, BSNL has chosen an unethical way of marketing.

A Telecom Talk reader Suresh Nayak, from Bangalore, has digged the issue deeper and has mailed us the specifications of the issue, highlighting the intensity of the issue. Below is his mail:

BSNL is using “captive portal” method which is essentially meant for authentication or agreement, or log in, to advertise a private Enterprise Email Solution. They are blocking access to the internet gateway,( Universal Access Method) just to inform users about the existence of an email solution, and only then letting them pass the gateway to access the internet.

At least, they could have shown some mercy by doing this once in a lifetime, and never bothering afterwards. But, they do it 10 times a day, sometimes even for a back to back web page/DNS request.

The mobile users are completely in dark, as there is no way for any Apps to show up the “authentication page” and they will think their net or WiFi or mobile is not working properly.

They are lucky if their WiFi network asks them to sign in, which is actually unnecessary for an already signed in user.