BSNL gets ready for October cellphone launch

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is all set to launch it cellular services from October 19. The company has already filed its cellular tariff...

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is all set to launch it cellular services from October 19. The company has already filed its cellular tariff plan with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and would launch the services on October 19.

‘‘We have already filed the cellular tariffs. The launch is scheduled to take place on October 19,’’ BSNL chairman and managing director, Prithipal Singh, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Billing and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) India 2002 here.

Singh, however, declined to comment on the proposed cellular tariffs. BSNL’s cellular services would be launched in the country under the brandname CellOne.

The announcement comes close on the heels of the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) order yesterday staying a particular clause of TRAI’s cellular tariff order of 2002, which required public sector BSNL to report its cellular tariffs to TRAI while private cellular companies had been exempted from this.