`We are going to fulfil the demand'

Interview with BSNL Chairman and Managing Director V.P. Sinha.

Vijayendra Prasad Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director of the telecommunications giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), believes in performance, and his aversion to pontification comes out clearly within a few minutes of interaction with him.

The 59-year-old technocrat is one who has gone through the mill. An engineering graduate from Patna University, Sinha joined the Indian Telecommunications Service Group `A' on March 1, 1968. He specialised in transmission and has served in all its branches, namely, Open Wire Carrier, Coaxial, VHF, UHF, Microwave, Optical Fibre and Satellite Communication. He was actively involved in the finalisation of the hardware and software for STEP (Satellite Telecommunication Experimental Project). He has served in a number of circles in the capacity of General Manager and handled Operations and Development and gained vast experience in planning and networking telecommunications. He later became Chief General Manager, Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

He received training in Planning and Rural Communications from the erstwhile Telecom Australia under a scheme of the United Nations Development Programme. He has worked at DoT Headquarters as Deputy Director-General (Rural Network) and as Senior Deputy Director General (LTP) and was then deputed to BSNL as Senior Deputy Director-General (Transmission). He has been a member of International Telecommunication Union delegations to Geneva, Lisbon, ADB (Manila) and CIDA (Canada). He was the Chairman of Study Group on Alliance for Public Technology (Bangkok) for the Study Cycle 2000-2002.

As Director (Commercial and Marketing), BSNL Board, Sinha has interacted extensively with regulatory authorities on issues relating to interconnection, licensing and universal service plans. As Director (Planning and New Services), Sinha's development plans for BSNL include 15 million GSM lines and three million CDMA connections by the end of 2004-05.

Sinha took over as the CMD of BSNL on January 1, managing the overall affairs of the company. Excerpts from an interview he gave R.C. Rajamani:

There have been media reports that BSNL is going to challenge Bharti Telecom for the top cellular slot. How are you going to do it?

There is nothing like challenging anybody. Our demand is there and we are going to fulfil the demand. We are already in the first place in our licence areas. Delhi and Mumbai are not in our licence areas.

How do you plan to make the services cheaper so that you reach the poorer sections?

There is a limit to which we can go. We have to see the operational cost and effects. Whatever is possible, we will certainly do.

Do you see cellular phones completely wiping out landline at some point of time?

Not in the least. Fixed lines have got their own advantages. We can provide rich services on broadband. The reach and power of landline will be known when we roll out the broadband. Cellular cannot completely replace the landline, not to speak of wiping it out.

Do you have any foreign collaboration?

We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korea for broadband deployment. We are open to more such collaborations in the future.

Do you have plans to list BSNL in the market?

It is up to the government to decide. We are not listed with the stock exchanges as yet. Since BSNL is 100 per cent government-owned, only the government can decide.

What are the advantages of being listed with the stock exchanges?

Nothing much really. But, it will add to the company's credibility - that it is listed with the stock exchanges.

You are not new to the organisation. How do you assess its performance so far and what are your priorities?

Since its inception BSNL has been improving its performance. Stability is its brand identity, for landline as well as mobile. BSNL has shown the industry how to lead the way. In landline we had added 50-70 lakh connections per annum till 2002. Since the launch of our mobile in 2002, we have captured over 22 per cent of the market share. BSNL's mission is to provide telecom service of world-class technology at affordable prices to its customers. We have plans to introduce broadband services throughout India. A beginning has already been made by launch of commercial services in Bangalore. We would like to lead the convergence era. We are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and are providing world-class voice and data services to our customers.

Until recently your organisation was the only one to cater to the communication needs of the people and in that sense enjoyed monopoly. How do you view the change in the situation following the entry of private players and how do you propose to reorient your strategies to meet the changed situation?

BSNL is far ahead of its rivals in basic services, claiming nearly a 85 per cent share of the subscriber base and over a 90 per cent share in terms of revenue. Its penetration can be gauged by the steadily rising number of subscribers in both urban and rural areas, not only for fixed line telephone but also for its mobile, Internet and other services. The number of landlines has registered a quantum jump from 21.6 million to around 35.5 million over the past years. The number of landlines added during this period is almost equal to what was added over the previous five decades and more in cellular; BSNL is clearly the leader in its area of operation. In Internet service, BSNL has achieved a formidable lead over other competitors.

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a public sector enterprise and do you feel the need for any special assistance from the government to meet the challenges from the private sector?

Our strength is our workforce, experience and customer trust that we have built up over the years. Customer care is an important element in the management strategy. We have initiated several measures to raise the quality of customer care to international standards. The motto of BSNL is "Connecting India".

How do you propose to reach rural and remote areas in order to achieve 100 per cent connectivity?

The major challenge I see is the front-end interface and, of course, support from the government for our development in rural network. BSNL has covered more than 500,000 villages out of total a of 600,000 villages. All unapproachable villages are being connected through Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) connectivity and satellite connectivity. With the coverage on highways and rail routes, thousands of villages across the country are covered with GSM (mobile) connectivity.

Technological advances are taking place rapidly in the telecom sector. How is BSNL gearing itself to keep pace with these?

The telecom market in India is experiencing a major shift in the customer base from the fixed wire basic telephone to cellular telephone customers, driving down the earnings per line and creating a substantial churn in the customer base of the basic service telecom operators. Despite the declining net profit consequent to the declining tariff regime and increasing costs due to corporate wage restructure, BSNL is fully committed to implementing the customer-oriented tariffs in order to pass on the benefits of telecom growth to the people of India. The company plans to install one hundred crore telephones during the current financial year, including CDMA and GSM services. Exploiting its experience and the spread of its network, BSNL is all set to roll out broadband services too. International long-distance, audio and video-conferencing facilities, wire line SMS services, Stand-alone Signaling Transfer Points (SSTP), Next Generation Network, and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)/Certification Authority (C.A.) are some of the segments in which the company is planning to change the rules of the game. Focussing on better customer service, nearly 3,300 customer care centres with specially trained employees have been set up across the country.