BSNL revived: MTNL merged with BSNL, 4G soon 

In a major development, the two government-led telcos BSNL and MTNL would now be merged into a single entity. This decision has been announced by Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad after a Cabinet Meeting. This meeting was also hugely expected to result in a revival package for BSNL. 

BSNL-MTNL merger 

This merger, a part of the revival package, would lead to monetization of assets worth Rs 38000 crores, as per Prasad. This merger would take time to complete. Till the merger process is completed, MTNL would be a subsidiary of BSNL. In fact, this merger would see MTNL would be merged with BSNL.As far as BSNL revival is concerned, there would also be a revival package of Rs 15000 crores. This would be raised via sovereign bonds. 

Now, the above should be good news for BSNL loyalists expecting the telco to be revived. At this point in time, BSNL’s 4G services that are under test have become topics of intense debates across the Indian telecom circles. The telco was even recently trending on social media, multiple times on multiple days. The trending hashtags were “SwitchtoBSNL”, “IndiaNeedBSNL”, “BSNL4G”.  

Also, with Interconnect Usage Charge (IUC) being a  subject of debate across the telecom circles, Reliance Jio is currently levying 6 paise per minute IUCon customers making voice calls to non-Jio networks. Such customers could recharge for specific amounts – under custom IUC plans or even opt for Ajio All-In-One plans to enjoy free unlimited calling to any network in India.  

Other incumbent telcos viz Airtel and Vodafone have not levied OIUC on users for now. Also, Jio has communicated to TRAI to retain the date of 1 January 2020 as the cut-off after which calls could potentially be made free without IUC being levied on customers. In this regard, it would do BSNL loyalists a world of good in case the government-led telco launches full-fledged 4G services in India.  

(with inputs from PTI)

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