BSNL, MTNL not losing users due to poor service, network: Milind Deora

NEW DELHI: Subscribers of BSNL and MTNL are not switching to private operators due to poor network and unsatisfactory services of the state-run telecom companies, Parliament was informed today.

"BSNL and MTNL are, in general, meeting the QoS (Quality of Service) benchmarks prescribed by Trai... subscribers are not switching over to private players due to poor mobile network and unsatisfactory telecom service in various states," Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.

He was responding to a question on whether these two factors were driving customer churn at BSNL and MTNL.

Deora said in case of mobile, only 0.6 per cent of total subscribers have ported out (net) of BSNL till June 2012 whereas in case of MTNL, this figure is 1.79 per cent.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been monitoring QoS of various telecom services through quarterly performance monitoring reports. The performance against the parameter of mobile coverage is assessed through drive tests.

The minister said an operator-assisted drive test of BSNL network in select cities and MTNL network in Delhi and Mumbai was conducted by an independent agency engaged by Trai to assess the QoS during the quarter ending March 2012.

"It is seen from these reports that though the service coverage in most of these places is not 100 per cent, the performance of BSNL and MTNL is comparable to the service coverage provided by other service providers," Deora said.