DoT to start telegraph through PCOs

NEW DELHI, Dec 25: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning to introduce a new service to allow franchised public call office (PCO) to provide telegraph services in places where there is no telegraph office or telecom centre run by the DoT. The scheme was discussed by the Telecom Commission yesterday as part of the new drive of the department to improve customer services and broad base them.

The proposal to introduce telegraph services through PCO franchisees aims at increasing the speed and penetration of the service by taking it to the doorstep of the consumer for their convenience and at the same time arrest the declining trends in the volumes of the telegrams and revenues generated from it. The proposal states that the franchising and fixation of agents would be done by the Chief General Managers of telecom circles based on the "need, potential of generation of traffic and revenue and accessability to the telecom network."

The new scheme is being contemplated as telegrams would be conveyed on telephone networks and reduce the delay as well as the problem of maintaining delivery staff for the delivery of these telegrams. The department has been facing tremendous problems owing to the acute shortage of delivery staff which is considered to be in the region of 42 per cent below the optimum required level. As a result, the department has been receiving a lot of flak for delayed deliveries of telegrams.

Currently, the department incurs an expenditure of Rs 6.95 to every Post Office for the delivery of a telegram.