BSNL unveils prepaid broadband service

BANGALORE, INDIA: State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) Friday launched prepaid broadband service for the first time in the country from this tech hub to enable customers access Internet in any city except Delhi and Mumbai.

"There are no fixed monthly charges for prepaid broadband service. Postpaid customers can also subscribe to the service," BSNL chairman and managing director Kuldeep Goyal told reporters at the launch.

Initially, prepaid broadband customers will be given an account with user name and password and 50mb free download with a 15-day validity period.

The service offers unlimited download through four slabs (vouchers) of access at speeds ranging from 256kbps to 2mbps in the validity period. Limited download is also available through nine slabs at 2mbps speed.

"The other advantages of prepaid service are subscribers will have control onusage and will not have to exceed download limit. A group of prepaid customers like students or professionals can share a single digital subscriber line (DSL) connection," Goal said.

Corporates and enterprises can control expenditure on broadband usage of employees by subscribing to the service.

"As in case of mobile connectivity, where 80 percent of subscribers are prepaid, we are confident of increasing the broadband subscriber base with this new service in view its advantages such as affordability and mobility," Goyal said.

In this context, he admitted that private and state-run operators had missed the target of achieving 10 million subscribers' base broadband connections by 2007.

"Through innovative schemes such as prepaid and increase use of optic fibre, we are racing against time to achieve the government's target of 20 million (connections) by 2010 and 40 million by 2012," Goyal noted.

BSNL, which rolled out the postpaid broadband service in Bangalore January 14, 2005, has 4.3 million customers nationwide, accounting for about 40 percent market share.

"We have an installed capacity of 8.5 million lines, including 1.5 million ports in rural areas. We are investing more to increase the pace of connections from all the 32,000 exchanges in the country, including rural exchanges," Goyal said.

If Internet has revolutionised communications and e-commerce, broadband has accelerated the speed of access for high-end services such as voluminous data, video content and television (IPTV).

The prepaid broadband service will be extended to other circles in phases by the end of this fiscal.

©IANS