BSNL offers prepaid service to PCOs, STD booths

Bangalore, Sep 21 (IANS) State-owned telecom behemoth Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is launching a prepaid service for fixed lines operated by public call offices (PCOs) and std booths in the city.

The service, termed fixed line prepaid (FLPP), facilitates PCOs and STD booth operators to buy recharge coupons in advance and offers the service to customers on a 24×7 basis.

Unlike the ITC (India Telephone Card) service, where the authentication is done through a 16-digit PIN, the authentication of FLPP is linked to calling line indicator (CLI). So, the user will not have to dial the account number for authentication.

‘The primary reason for introducing the prepaid service to PCO/STD franchisees is to avoid the hassle of paying the post-paid bills every fortnight at our collection centres after waiting in the queue for long. Now, they can buy the prepaid cards for a value ranging from Rs.500 to Rs.10,000 and operate their booth with 15-90 days validity.

‘The FLPP also enables operators to collect their commission ranging from 25 percent for the lowest card value to 37.5 percent for the highest card value in advance,’ BSNL’s Bangalore telecom circle principal general manager S. Ramalingam told IANS at a preview of the service here Wednesday.

With public phone booths accounting for 22-25 percent of the annual revenue in the district, including urban and rural areas, about 81,000 PCOs and 16,000 STD booths are operated in the state’s largest telecom circle.

The prepaid service will initially be offered to about 200,000 lines from the exchanges where high-tech switches are installed and connected through software to the Intelligence Network (IN) platforms at Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

‘Going forward, we will extend the service to all the exchanges in the district after they are upgraded with the Alcatel switch. The prepaid service can also be availed by our home subscribers in place of the post-paid service to regulate the usage,’ Ramalingam said.

In a bid to check the migration of its franchisees to private service providers like Reliance and Tata Indicom, which offer wireless booths with prepaid cards, BSNL will be allowing its PCO operators to offer STD/ISD facility to customers by opting for the FLPP service.

‘In a competitive environment, we are coming out with innovative products and services to ensure our franchisees remain with us as they have been over the decades. In addition to the FLPP service, we will provide a metering instrument to generate bills for charging customers instead of buying it separately,’ Ramalingam pointed out.

As in the case of mobile customers, the PCO/STD operators can buy the prepaid cards of a value that is equivalent to the average business generated in a week, fortnight or month.

With a higher prepaid card value, franchisees can offer the service to eight customers simultaneously. Residential and commercial subscribers will also have the option to dial a toll number (1805233) followed by destination number for making prepaid calls.

‘To make optimal utilisation of the IN platforms and converging technologies that have been installed across the country for seamless interface, we are gearing up to offer toll free numbers with universal access to individual or residential subscribers.

‘As in the case of service providers and corporates, home subscribers can dial these toll numbers where the calling party pays. Similar value-added services are in the offing to broaden our product portfolio,’ Ramalingam added.

Source- http://www.dailyindia.com

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