New facility for Net subscribers

PONDICHERRY, OCT. 7. The Chief General Manager of Telecommunications (Tamil Nadu Circle), Mr. P. A. Mohammed Yaseen, said here at a press conference after inaugurating the augmented internet node (C.Node) in the Telephone Exchange today that the augmentation of C-Node with 144 modems had been done for the benefit of the Internet subscribers.

Easy access and enhanced speed are the chief highlights of the arrangement now made in the system. Four hundred subscribers were having internet connection in Pondicherry and were attached to the telecom. Special monsoon package was also available till October 21 and he hoped more subscribers would get enrolled for the facility.

Mr. Yaseen said that Pondicherry, presently, had 52,000 phone connections, as on September 30 and 22,000 more connections were likely to be provided by end of this financial year.

He said mobile phone facility would be available by end of March next year in Pondicherry and Vellore. The annual revenue netted by the telecom in Pondicherry was approximately Rs. 45 crores while the Tamil Nadu circle, as a whole, netted Rs. 15,000 crores as revenue.

When his attention was drawn to the shortage of manpower at the field level, he said that Telecom Technical Assistants would be available soon and this would, to some extent, solve the problem. Of the 1250 telephone exchanges in the entire circle, some 150 exchanges were yet to be provided optical fibre medium and this would be completed by March next year while in Pondicherry cent percentage coverage had been achieved.

With launching of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited coming into existence from October 1, the subscribers have been requested to draw cheque or demand draft in favour of Accounts Officer (Cash) office of General Manager Telecom BSNL in respect of transactions.

Mr. Yaseen said that presently India Telephone Cards were sold at the customer service cerntre attached to office of the GM and very soon these cards would be sold through petrol bunks and local PCOs.

The Chief General Manager said that commercial activities of Pondicherry were being computerised and telephone revenue billing and accounting had already been computerised.

There was a proposal to give telephone on demand by April next year in urban areas. He said procedure relating to provision and barring of STD facility and also restarting the dynamic locking had been modified now. Subscribers might present a letter addressed to Commercial Officer with their signature attested by a Gazetted Officer or a Bank Manager.

Intelligent network service was available in Chennai Coimbatore, Pondicherry and Sivakasi and Virduhunagar. This is expected to be available in the whole of Tamil Nadu by March next year.

He said system of remitting bill amount through banks would be expanded bringing into the fold more banks or their branches by Novemnber this year.

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