01.04.2014:Customers Fume over BSNL Technical Snag

By Express News Service - BHUBANESWAR Published: 01st April 2014 10:46 AM Last Updated: 01st April 2014 10:46 AM With its network going completely haywire, the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has left its customers in the Capital city exasperated. Hundreds of BSNL subscribers experienced signal failure and call drop as the system upgradation by the PSU took its toll on the telecom network. While the problem has been continuing for the last few days, the severity of the network failure was drastic on Monday. Voice calls failed to pass through during the day whereas mobile Internet did not work. In many cases, the calls were snapped mid-way. “I tried to ring my home to check on my ailing father but the call just would not connect. Besides, there is frequent drop in signal leading to call failure,” said Shradhanjali, a subscriber. Similarly, subscribers also failed to receive calls because connection from other telecom networks did not pass through. For the executive class which uses mobile network for business communication, the experience was even more annoying. The BSNL attributed the problem to upgradation of its mobile network with latest state-of-the-art technology for better coverage and high speed data service. “Since upgradation work is going on in full swing in Bhubaneswar and its outskirts, there may be network disturbances and degradation of service in some areas for a temporary period. The work is expected to be complete by Monday,” a BSNL official said. BSNL officials said sufficient technical manpower has been deployed on round-the-clock basis to complete the system upgradation with minimum network disturbances.