30/05/2011

BSNL-MTNL MAY FLOAT JV FOR CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE....

Telecom PSUs MTNL and BSNL are likely to float a joint venture company to provide pan-Indian marketing and customer care services through a single window.
The joint venture firm would cater mainly to high-end and enterprise customers of both PSUs.
"MTNL and BSNL have initiated discussions for a joint venture company for synergising their operations to provide pan-Indian services to high end enterprise customers," MTNL CMD Kuldeep Singh said.
MTNL provides telecom services in Mumbai and Delhi circles, while BSNL operates in the rest 20 service areas.
Singh also indicated that an existing joint venture firm Millennium Telecom could be used for the purpose.
Millennium Telecom is a joint venture between BSNL and MTNL with a paid capital of Rs 2.87 crore. Both PSUs have their members on the board of the company.
"We are talking about the joint venture company which will handle marketing and customer care operations and on the backhand will take resources from both MTNL and BSNL," Singh added.
MTNL and BSNL are reeling under huge financial losses and the government has directed them to synergise their resources in order to cut costs and provide pan-Indian services to their subscribers.
When asked about the job of the JV company, he said, "To market product especially to enterprise business and wholesale customers, bring the business, do the handholding, take care of the customers and on the backhand whatever resources are required they take from MTNL and BSNL."
MTNL had recently reported a net loss of Rs 2,826 crore, while total income rose to Rs 3,841.2 crore during the last financial year.
BSNL, once the country's flagship telecom company, posted a net loss of Rs 1,823 crore on revenue of Rs 32,046 crore in 2009-2010. The company had net profit of over Rs 10,000 crore in 2005-06.................BS NEWS