Postal department, BSNL to set up ATMs in rural areas

NEW DELHI: The Department of Posts (DoP) and the government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) will jointly put ATMs in rural areas across the country. In rural areas, post offices will be used as sites for providing towers. BSNL will also use services of postmen for collecting telephone bills in the remote areas.

This is part of an agreement signed on Thursday between BSNL and the DoP. The agreement also envisages that BSNL will use postmen as mobile PCOs. BSNL will provide wireless in local loop (WLL)-based mobile telephones to the postmen. When a postman goes to a village, he can carry a mobile phone with him. There will be a meter attached to it. People can use mobile PCOs and pay the postman.

This will provide additional income to the postman and also telephone facilities in villages. The scheme has been launched on a trial basis currently. Now, BSNL wants to offer this services in all those areas where WLL services are present. “We have signed an MOU with the DoP under which the DoP will be treated as preferred franchisee for sale of prepaid cards, calling cards and internet cards etc,” said SD Saxena, director (finance) of BSNL. “With the two giants joining hands together, we will become the largest service provider to the nation, especially in the rural India,” said Mr Saxena. BSNL will create a special network for DoP. This network will be based on satellite and optical fibre cables (OFC). DoP provides the largest saving bank services as an agent of the ministry of finance.