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In a bid to take on private telecom operators and prevent erosion of its subscriber base, State-owned BSNL has decided to offer better downloading speed at no extra cost on its 3G dongle (data cards). From March 14, 3G data access speed will rise to 3 MBPS for a single session and up to 14.6 MBPS for multiple sessions in the Kolkata circle.
The company will also review the price of its Evolution Data Optimised (EVDO) card (a wireless internet access card) to make it competitive with other private telecom operators. The new price for EVDO cards is likely to come into effect in April.
Speaking at an interactive session, organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI), Mr Ashok Garg, chief general manager, BSNL, said: “Several technological changes have been made that will increase the downloading speed of our 3G dongles. Once this is done, we will aggressively push the sales of our 3G-enabled dongles. There will however be no change in tariff plans.”
According to industry sources, BSNL is one of the companies that have ended up losing a large number of subscribers following the introduction of mobile number portability (MNP).
BSNL currently has around 2.3 million subscribers in the Kolkata circle of which 30,000 use its 3G services. It was the first to launch 3G services in the country and currently offers downloading speeds of 400 KBPS on its data card.
Company sources meanwhile point out that the service provide will start a short message service (SMS) campaign highlighting the increase in downloading speeds. Private operator Tata Docomo currently offers a speed of 21.2 MBPS through its USB sticks.
EVDO cards
Sources also told Business Line that the company was likely to reduce the price of the EVDO data cards to take on private operators. BSNL's EVDO card is priced at Rs 3,000 while private operators offer a lower price of Rs 1500-1,800 for their EVDO cards.
“Plans are afoot to price the EVDO cards at par with private operators. The price change is likely to take place by April,” the company official added.
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