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To: foundation who wrote (30348)	12/23/2002 3:58:19 PM
From: foundation	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196531

(Government owned) BSNL rings in dakia with WLL power TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2002 01:32:20 AM ] Now, the good old village postman will bring not just mail but a mobile PCO too. The humble Grameen Dak Sewak (GDS), or the village postman, will reincarnate as the Grameen Sanchar Sewak (GSS) and help extend the benefits of the ongoing telecom revolution to rural India, where only 30.3% of total phones are operating at present. The Rs 3-crore GSS pilot project to work on the wireless in local loop (WLL) technology will be launched by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpaye tomorrow. Under the scheme, each GSS will carry, along with letters, a fixed wireless telephone (FWT), which could be used by the villagers to make calls. According to press statement here, around 1,800 GDS — all postal department employees — will work as franchisees for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in rural areas. In the initial phase, the pilot project would cover around 8,000 villages in 21 telecom circles covering all states and Uts, except Andaman and Nicobar, Haryana and Punjab. For the additional service offered, GDSs will get a commission of 20% of the call charges while (additional) 5% commission will go to the postal department. Since there are number of small hamlets and villages in a revenue village, the telecom facility will be extended to every resident which will save him a trip to the Village Public Telephone (VPT). The FWT phones will have a display facility (where call units can be seen) and their operational range will be a radius of 5 km from the WLL tower. Also, all the FWT phones will be provided with STD/ISD facility. The FWT phone has been provided by BSNL to the GSS on a nominal charge of Rs 20 per month as insurance cover. If the GSS fails to earn a minimum of Rs 20 per month as commission for outgoing calls, BSNL has the option to terminate the agreement. The GSS is also allowed to pass on messages (either incoming or outgoing) for Rs 5 per message, and this amount may be retained by him. For easy calculation of call charges by the GSS, a ready reckoner has been pasted on the FWT phone in local languages. economictimes.indiatimes.com