Bhubaneswar: With the roll out of fourth generation (4G) service in the country, state-owned telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is likely to invest about Rs 500 crore for all possible measures in Odisha, said Uday Shankar Panda, chief general manager of BSNL, Odisha circle.
Addressing to the reporters here Thursday, Panda said that due to certain reasons, 4G services was not introduced in India so far by the company. “But it is expected that it will be launched in this financial year only. Once it is rolled out, BSNL will be able to invest around Rs 500 crore in the state.” Panda said here Thursday.
Speaking about upcoming plan of 5G service, Panda said that BSNL may be first entrant to introduce ultra-high-speed fifth-generation or 5G services.
“We are making all possible arrangement to achieve that target. BSNL has tied up with multinational vendors like Nokia, Coriant and ZTE on a 5G technology roadmap which may be starting from 2020,” he said.
The chief general manager was speaking to the media persons on the occasion of launching of first Aadhaar Seva Kendra at BSNL Customer Service Centers (CSC) at its head office here Thursday.
According to Panda, about 95 such Kendras will be opened at BSNL CSCs in Odisha Circle.
BSNL has been asked by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to start Aadhaar enrolment as well the updating facilities in its 3,000 CSCs across India. According to Panda, around Rs 90 crore will be invested for the project.
“Out of Rs 90 crore, Odisha has recived Rs 3 crore for the project. The project has come as a major benefit for the people of the state. People of Odisha can now visit these CSCs for new Aadhaar cards totally free of cost and will have to pay Rs 50 for updating it. All the necessary equipments required for that purpose have already been procured,” said CGM.
Odisha circle of BSNL also launched two prepaid schemes namely Super 81 and STV 591 for company’s customers in the state.
“With the Super 81 plan, customers can get UL calls to all BSNL for 60 days and 15000 seconds free calls to other network and 2GB data for 30 days” the BSNL chief general manager said.
He also said that the BSNL users in Odisha can now also make UL calls to any network for 180 days under STV 591 plan. “Also, customers can enjoy 6GB of internet service for six months,” he added.