DOT is planning to allot about Rs. 5,000 crore as subsidy from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)to the telecom operators for providing broadband services in the rural areas.
The USO Fund is having Rs.16,803.84 crores in its kitty at present. The USO Fund was started in 2002 to subsidise for providing of landlines in the rural areas which are loss making. On the pressure of the private companies, the subsidy was extended to mobiles also. Now it is extended to providing broadband in the rural areas.
Tender is to be submitted by the telecom companies for getting the subsidy. BSNL is number one in broadband services. BSNL Management has to take immediate action to ensure that appropriate and aggressive tenders are submitted for getting maximum subsidy from the USOF.

All the seven Telecom Factories were part of the conversion to BSNL. They are at Alipore, Gopalpur, Kharagpur, Mumbai, Jabalpur, Richai and Bhilai. BSNLEU had demanded earlier that they should be named as BSNL factories and it was agreed. But unfortunately, it seems that the management has forgotten about this change and the old name continues.
The workers demand that the name should be changed from Telecom Factories to BSNL Factories. It is the correct and appropriate name.

Have you given the CHQ Building Fund? This is a question I want to ask the members of the BSNLEU throughout the country.THe All India Conference of BSNLEU held at Thiruvananthapuram unanimously decided to purchase a Union Office Building for CHQ at Delhi and it was also decided that donations be collected from all the members for the same. The target was Rs. three crore so that a suitable building can be purchased for accommodating the office as also stay for some comrades who are on deputation to CHQ. There should be some space for comrades who are coming to Delhi for various reasons. The amount to be collected from each member was only Rs.300/-
Though it is more than one year after the AIC and the workers have got a very good wage revision and Promotion Policy resulting in about 4 to 5 thousand ruppees monthly, it is unfortunate that only Rs. 1.5 crore only has been received so far. If every BSNLEU member had donated it would have easily be more than Rs. four crore. This indicates that even half of the members have not donated or all the donations collected by the Branches/Districts have not reached the headquarters. The chanes are that the donations have not been collected in many centres. While the worker has benefitted much due to the initiative of the union, why the worker is reluctant to donate a meagre amount? It seems that many leaders at the local/district level have not taken the initiative to collect the donation.
Whatever be the reason, it has become a very difficult situation for the CHQ. Unless sufficient donation is received,either we will have to take loan from bank or take the meagre fixed deposits of the union. Both will entail much difficulty. If all the remaining members also donate immediately that will be quite sufficient for purchasing the building.
I would request each and every worker who has not donated so far to rise to the occasion and remit the donation immediately and help the CHQ to purchase the building thus implementing the All India Conference decision.

There was always the question whether the use of mobile phone have adverse radiation effects. While one section of opinion was that the radiation from cell phones was not dangerous, the other section was of a different opinion. Now the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned the people who the radiation from the mobile phones can be cancerous. The radio frequency used for mobiles are capable of risks of malignant type of brain cancer.
The news has created fears and apprehensions. However further details are awaited.