Employees Oppose Telecom Unbundling Proposal

The BSNL Employees Union general secretary, V A N Namboodiri, issued the following statement on November 15.

IT has been reported in the media that the government is actively considering proposals to unbundle the last mile copper cable of BSNL and MTNL thus allowing private companies to utilise the same for providing services. It is also stated that this is being done so as to expand broadband services, which the telecom PSUs have not been able to do so far.

The facts do not support the above pleas. Within one year of starting broadband services, 200 cities have already been covered by BSNL and more are in the pipeline. MTNL is giving broadband connection on demand in Delhi and Mumbai. The MNCs and private companies are pressurising the government to unbundle the last mile copper cables of BSNL and MTNL with the aim of cornering huge profit, by utilising the infrastructure of BSNL/MTNL on namesake rentals.  If the private companies were really interested in providing services to the people, why have they not even touched the thousands of villages as required in the license agreement, which have no telephone services till date?

Further, the government has to think twice before the infrastructure of government PSUs is allowed to be utilised by rival companies, a step which is neither ethical nor justified.

The BSNL Employees Union vehemently opposes the unbundling proposals and demands from the government to drop the same, failing which the four lakh employees of BSNL and MTNL will be compelled to resort to direct action. The BSNL Employees Union calls upon the telecom workers to start massive campaign among the workers and the people against the government proposals and to organise day long dharna on November 18, 2005 and wear black badges. (INN)