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BSNL, MTNL basic service bids rejected

BS Economy Bureau

Close on the heels of rejecting VSNL's applications for providing basic services, the government has also rejected applications of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd who had applied for offering basic services in new circles.

The applications have been rejected as the basic operators guidelines stipulate that no two operators having common promoters can operate in the same circle. The government being the majority stakeholder in the three companies have prevented the companies from expanding their networks.

The three firms had applied for a total of 22 fixed-line telephone licences. While VSNL and BSNL had applied for the Delhi and Bombay circles where MTNL is already offering basic services, MTNL had applied for six circles where BSNL is operating.

The government has so far issued letters of intent on 55 applications from four companies including Reliance, Tata, Bharti and HFCL. The government had received about 157 applications for providing basic services in 21 telecom circles.

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