GANGTOK, 16 Sept: Complaints regarding BSNL services are not new and the state-owned telecommunications company seems to be going from bad to worse. This, despite a High Court ruling that calls upon the company to restore its services in national interest.
According to BSNL sources almost half of its Base Transceiver Stations [BTS] have not been working in Sikkim. BTS is the technical term for a mobile radio base station and is an important transmission device between the mobile phone and the public network.
There have been reports of frequent disturbance in network and the clarity of voice calls. In many areas of Singtam, Dikchu & Balutar in East & South Sikkim people could not get any mobile service or network. Two large hydro power projects in the area are also confronted with communication services problem with their different units.
BSNL sources inform that in the last 8 years, BSNL landline subscribers have surrendered their service with the number of subscribers going down to 15,000 at present as compared to 42,000 in 2004-05. Similarly, the number of BSNL mobile service users has also reportedly come down to 30,000 [as of June 2013] from the earlier 85,000.
Sources in the know further inform of a steep drop in BSNL’s annual revenue in Sikkim which has come down to Rs. 15-17 crore compared to more than Rs. 35 crore in 2008-09.
BSNL Sikkim which comes under West Bengal Circle finds itself confronted by competition from private telecommunication service providers and sources add that it has not paid for space rented for BTS for the last 2-3 years. House owners are now asking BSNL to remove their machinery from their houses, it is learnt.
According to BSNL sources almost half of its Base Transceiver Stations [BTS] have not been working in Sikkim. BTS is the technical term for a mobile radio base station and is an important transmission device between the mobile phone and the public network.
There have been reports of frequent disturbance in network and the clarity of voice calls. In many areas of Singtam, Dikchu & Balutar in East & South Sikkim people could not get any mobile service or network. Two large hydro power projects in the area are also confronted with communication services problem with their different units.
BSNL sources inform that in the last 8 years, BSNL landline subscribers have surrendered their service with the number of subscribers going down to 15,000 at present as compared to 42,000 in 2004-05. Similarly, the number of BSNL mobile service users has also reportedly come down to 30,000 [as of June 2013] from the earlier 85,000.
Sources in the know further inform of a steep drop in BSNL’s annual revenue in Sikkim which has come down to Rs. 15-17 crore compared to more than Rs. 35 crore in 2008-09.
BSNL Sikkim which comes under West Bengal Circle finds itself confronted by competition from private telecommunication service providers and sources add that it has not paid for space rented for BTS for the last 2-3 years. House owners are now asking BSNL to remove their machinery from their houses, it is learnt.
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