Telecom minister Ravishankar Prasad has refuted all rumours that have been going rife about the possibility of shutting down of public sector unit MTNL. Earlier we reported how talks about shut down of 5 PSUs were rampant out of which we only knew for sure about 3 units of HMT which is a watch manufacturing company as Heavy Industries minister Anant Geete had disclosed during the questioning hour.
The identities of the remaining two PSUs slated for shut down remained shrouded in mystery which made analysts calculate taking into consideration the list of 65 sick PSUs released by the government which included the names of Air India and MTNL which appeared to be strong candidates. But telecom minister Ravishankar Prasad has in a public statement cleared it that the Government has no plans of shutting down the company.
MTNL in the last financial year has managed to report a net profit of Rs. 7820 crore but in the two preceding financial years it has reported net losses of Rs. 5388 crore and Rs. 5490 crore respectively. The government is taking every effort to revive the loss-making companies MTNL and BSNL and to bring them at par with the private telcos. It has refunded the money for BWA spectrum surrendered by MTNL in both Mumbai and Delhi and by BSNL in some circles, it has also offered to refund the remainder duration of its 800MHz spectrum held in Mumbai and Delhi which it is currently not using for commercial purposes. Last year the government was also considering the potential merger of MTNL and BSNL but that did not materialise as MTNL had a lot of debt towards unpaid dues for its employees. TRAI has also cancelled all call termination charges for voice calls originating or terminating on landlines so as to give the much needed boost to the wireline business of both state run telcos.
It remains to be seen what lies in the future for PSU telecom operators, whether they are able to fight for survival in a private operator dominated market or shut shop by giving VRS to its employees. Let us know your views and opinions through your comments.
Physiotherapist by day and techno buff by evening, Esmail is our very own in-house spectrum specialist. He has a keen eye for the Mobile data and DTH segments.
I visited the Karol Bagh Exchange Sanchar Haat after 2 years 2 Months on 16-March-2015 @ 11:45 AM. This also because I wanted to activate STD On my Landline # to use the 100 free calls which I get with my unlimited Broad Band Internet Plan. This could not be done via the online portal or by calling 1500. Upon going I found the entire Sanchar Haat a Ghost Town. The Office timings are 09:00 AM To 7:00 PM. In 4 counters labelled as 1-New GSM SIM Connection 2-New Broad Band & Landline Booking 3-SIM Replacement 4-Landline phone plus activations.… Read more »
Thankfully the MTNL called on 18-03-2015 verified if I had indeed applied for STD Activation on Landline in Paper and after I confirmed yes, the officer said by same day night it would be done. I checked @ 01:15 AM of 19-03-2015 by calling a STD No and it was activated. So good service by MTNL to retain it’s Landline subscribers. I for one would never surrender my MTNL Landline+Triband Broad Band Internet ever.
Continuing with my earlier 2 posts I visited MTNL Karol Bagh New Delhi Exchange On the 16-10-2015 and Paid my Landline Bill. I wanted to get a New GSM Prepaid Connection as 3G Speeds have improved in my area to 2.80 Mbps. Upon asking the counter clerk told me that for New connections MTNL does not Give Micro SIM’s as it receives Seal Packs from HO and has only Normal MINI SIM’s, but existing SIM’s could be converted to Micro SIM’s by paying Rs 29/-. The New connection cost was Rs 127/- when Vodafone Sells the same for Rs 15/-.… Read more »
Today I visited the Same MTNL Karol Bagh Sanchar Haat, to see if anything had changed, and no nothing. All Talk by R S Prasad is only Talk, no reality changed on the Ground. Still after 8 months, No Micro SIM For new connections, No Rs 25/- SIM. Only one plan 127 with wrong info of 127 seconds told to people as 127 minutes free talk value. No point in saving MTNL, Quicker to wind it up !
No young bloods to run MTNL then how can company bring new profit.
The only way is by getting more and more incentive from govt.