Kalyan exchange’s plans for expansion

MUMBAI, Aug 2: The Kalyan Telecom District (KTD) has rung in good news for its subscribers. The General Manger of KTD, C Nithiyanantham, ...

MUMBAI, Aug 2: The Kalyan Telecom District (KTD) has rung in good news for its subscribers. The General Manger of KTD, C Nithiyanantham, announced at a press conference recently that subscribers in Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi and Vasai will have access to three-minute local dialling by linking up to the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).

Subscribers in Kalyan and Ulhasnangar will have the added advantage of accessing Navi Mumbai as well. According to Nithiyanantham, this facility is being provided because the the local call facility in Ulhasnagar and Kalyan has been extended to all SDCAs (Short Distance Charging Areas). Subscribers will now have to pay less for the duration as the pulse rates have been reduced. The KTD, which is arguably one of the largest in the country, has 88 exchanges with an equipped capacity of 2,25,324 lines and 1,68, 241 working connections.

The KTD will also implement a Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) project of phones which require no wiring and will be connected to towersby transmitters. “On an experimental basis, we’ll start 1,000 lines,” informed Nithiyanantham.

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Monsoon-related problems will be a thing of the past, claimed Nithiyanantham. “We have already laid 1,100 km of jelly filled cables and plan to augment this with another 1,200 km this year,” he said. The KTD also plans to scrap the old cross bar exchanges at Bhiwandi (8,000 lines) and Ulhasnangar (10,000 lines) and replace them with new electronic exchanges. This implies that the disparity in numbers in some SDCAs which have both six and five digit dialling will end.

The General Manager also announced that the pending advice notes of Kalyan (1,500), Bhiwandi (2,000) and Ulhasnangar (1,000) exchanges will be completed by August 31, while those for Vasai (1,500) will be completed by September 15. He also informed that those in Dombivli (10,000) will be completed by September 30.