Jun 28, 2013 03:08 PM
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In the last few years, anyone who uses BSNL services will tell you how they had to run from pillar to post to get even simple issues rectified. During the last 6 years, I came across several occasions when the phone was down for more than 15 days and it took several visits to BSNL offices to fix the situation.
I had another taste of BSNL's poor services recently when I shifted my house and applied for shifting of connection to new house. When my phone was installed on new address for a week (their commitment is supposed to be 3 working days), I approached BSNL local exchange.
What followed after that visit was not less than a nightmare. BSNL directly said that "it is not feasible" (to connect to my house). When I tried to dig more, I came to know that they don't have 50 meters cable to connect to my house. I was shocked because cables are a telecom companies main "raw material". Without cables, no telecom company can run its network.
Then I came to know that BSNL had stopped ordering new equipment and cables many years ago. Whatever they have in stock is used for emergency (read - providing connection to politicians and policemen - the 2 categories of people that BSNL staff is afraid of).
I went on escalating from JTO to Telecom Minister. To my disappointment, not even one person (from local exchange JTO to CMD of BSNL to Telecom Minister) bothered to do something about it. Everytime I complained, they just sent an SMS to my cellphone saying "Your connection is not installed as it is not feasible". Come on, I am talking about Bangalore, an area where BSNL phones are already working. It is not Mount Everest that there is feasibility issue.
The worst thing is that on this journey, many BSNL staffers told me to apply for disconnection and try to get my refund. They said that BSNL's future is not known. It could be closed or sold off to a private player. They told me that I should get a connection from Private operator like Airtel.
