BSNL to invest Rs 932 crore in Maharashtra  ( October '6,2003, Business-Standard)

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is to invest around Rs 932 crore for infrastructure development in Maharashtra circle, even as the telecom services provider is expecting to post a 17.4 per cent increase in revenue to post Rs 3,075 crore by March 2004 from the circle.

“The investment, which is in line with our plans to stay ahead of competition, will be used for building a robust infrastructure and addition of the latest technology,” BSNL chief general manager R N Bharadwaj told reporters here today.

The telecom companies Maharashtra circle comprises Maharashtra and Goa, but excludes Mumbai. The company would invest around Rs 328 crore for upgrading its wireless in local loop (WLL) infrastructure, Rs 154 crore for its global systems for mobile communications (GSM) and Rs 550 crore for other infrastructure, including that of its internet and fixed-line operations, he said.

The investments would be used to strengthen BSNL’s optical fibre cable and trunk automation system, apart from using it for procurement of other telephony equipment, Bharadwaj said.

On revenues, Bharadwaj said BSNL expects to post Rs 2,650 crore revenues from basic services during the fiscal, compared with Rs 2,474 crore in the last fiscal.

The company which was a late entrant to GSM services and had posted only Rs 24 crore in revenues during the previous fiscal, Bharadwaj said, adding, this would touch a Rs 200 crore mark by the end of the fiscal.

BSNL expects to post a 50 per cent increase in revenues to Rs 100 crore from its leased line operations, while it is expecting to receive around Rs 125 crore from its interconnect deals, he said, adding the company had posted Rs 96 crore during the previous fiscal.

“We will achieve the target of Rs 3,075 crore this fiscal, through a thrust on marketing and optimising our operating costs,” Bhardwaj said.

BSNL expects to save 10 to 15 per cent from optimising its operational costs, he said, adding, the telecom major had recorded a total revenue of Rs 2,620 crore in the financial year 2003.

The company would also look at increasing revenues from GSM server services and leased line operations, which are the “new thrust” areas for BSNL, he said.