Home Economy State telecom firm’s revenues dip 21 percent

State telecom firm’s revenues dip 21 percent

By IANS,

New Delhi : State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has incurred a loss of nearly 21 percent in 2008-09, with revenues falling to Rs.11,505 crore last fiscal from Rs.14,499 crore the previous year.

The number of BSNL’s landline connections, too, fell in the last six months, the government said Thursday.

“The number of working BSNL landline telephone connections has reduced by 7.27 lakh during the last six months – from 297.03 lakh in November 2008 to 289.76 lakh in May 2009,” Minister of State for Communications and IT, Gurdas Kamat, said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

Kamat said the main reason for the surrender of landline connections was the increasing usage of mobile phones.

However, the customer bases of BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) for mobile services is increasing every year, he added.