BSNL introduces intra-branch intercom

By Afshan Yasmeen

BANGALORE, JUNE 15. Here is some good news for companies, including public sector units from the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL). Employees of establishments which have many branches within Bangalore can have an intra-branch intercom facility called ``Centrex'' to communicate with one another.

In a bid to meet the challenge of privatisation, BSNL has come out with this value-added service. The new service, which is a virtual PABX or Closed User Group (CUG) system, is a software running in the telephone exchanges here.

Under this system, the employees of Bangalore Telecom dial a three-digit number to communicate with their colleagues in any of the 150 exchanges in Bangalore. They can communicate with their near and dear ones at their homes with the same three-digit number.

The system, which is the first of its kind in the country, is an alternative to PABX. Although this existed in Mumbai and Hyderabad, it provided for communication between branches only within a radius of two km., the Deputy General Manager (Equipment and Planning), Mr. D.Sivaraj, said.

The Bangalore Telecom had submitted a proposal to the City police to use the Centrex facility for communicating between various police stations. ``We are hopeful of a positive response from them,'' the Bangalore Telecom Chief General Manager (CGM), Mr. K.Padmanabhan said.

Police spend Rs. 1.2 crores on their PBX systems and leased lines hired from BSNL for connecting extensions. Compared to this, the City police will have to spend just about Rs. 30 lakhs as one- time charge and about Rs. 3 lakhs a month on a 800-line Centrex facility with many features, Mr. Padmanabhan said.

The advantages of availing the Centrex service are many. All calls within the Centrex group are free. While extensions of a PABX work only within a small area, Centrex extensions work even at far-off places in other buildings.

The PABX is installed by an outside firm in offices. It requires space, and manpower for maintenance. But Centrex is owned by the BSNL and is given on lease to the user.

``The facility is spread over the entire City and has a multi- location capability. It is available from two to more than 10,000 lines. Besides, there is no limitation on use. All the extensions can have simultaneous access. Various facilities such as call forwarding and call waiting will be provided free of cost,'' said Mr. Sivaraj.

The system is reliable as the switches are maintained round-the- clock by trained experts and engineers and the capital investment is low. The network can also be used for data communication. Each extension can be programmed for incoming/outgoing calls to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The service is available throughout the year and extensions can be provided with local/STD/ISD facility selectively.

To avail of the Centrex facility, all that a customer has to do is apply for a Direct Exchange Line (DEL) wherever extensions are required. The charges are as for conventional telephones (registration Rs. 2,000 for every line booked). This amount is a deposit and will be adjusted in the first bill towards refundable security deposit, which is Rs. 3,000 for every line. The installation charges are Rs. 800 per line or Rs. 300 per line if the telephone and wiring are provided by the user. If a BSNL line already exists, it can be brought under the Centrex group without any charge.

A monthly rental of Rs. 250 will be charged for each of the extensions that will be entitled to 75 free calls to PSTN telephones every month. Calls beyond 75 will be charged as under: 76 to 200 calls -- Rs. 0.80 for each call, 201 to 500 calls -- Re. 1 for each call and 501 and above -- Rs. 1.20 for each call.

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