Shimla : Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) mobile service is deteriorating in Himachal Pradesh’s upper Shimla area even as arch rival Bharti Airtel connectivity is far better, say subscribers.
BSNL customers say the moment one moves out of Shimla town, the signal is weak or absent at many prominent places and highways of the district frustrating users.
Subscribers are not able to understand why BSNL is neglecting this affluent rural area even as Airtel continues to strengthen its hold here.
“At a time when towers are shared by all companies how come an Airtel subscriber will have full signal while BSNL has a weak or no signal at all,†said one BSNL customer.
Frustrated BSNL mobile users are also shifting to Airtel as it has a far better and reliable connectivity in most of upper Shimla. Some have two connections of these two companies.
The poor connectivity not only affects mobile customers but also BSNL’s WLL and internet users in the area.In recent years almost all BSNL landlline customers have shifted to WLL in rural upper Shimla but these customers are also badly affected by the poor signal.
In the crowded mobile market of Himachal Pradesh both Airtel and BSNL claim to be ahead of each other.There are 12 players in the hill state.
With a population of over 6.8 million. According to TRAI until June this year Himachal had over 7.2 million mobile connections.
Airtel was the first to enter Himachal way back in 1996 and has the largest revenue share but is competing with state run BSNL in the number of subscribers.
The rest followed,Reliance(1997), BSNL(2000) Reliance CDMA(2004),Tata Indicom(2005),Idea(2006),Aircel(2006),Vodafone(2008),S tel(2009) Tata Docomo(2010,Videocon(2010) and Virgin Mobile(2011).
In a 20 year career published widely. He has worked for the BBC, AFP, The Statesman, IANS and the Business Standard . Known for his hard hitting writing and occasional off-beat stories. He lives in Shimla.
BSNL officials are most lethergic and this the basic reason for the failure of its services. Despite having good equipment and set up its services are not as good as it ought to be . The state sector unit is suffering due to apathy of its officers mainly managers who are not aware of ground realities.
I have also noticed a decline in the mobile services of BSNL in urban areas as well..