BSNL cuts down broadband rental discounts to Central Government employees by 50%

BSNL had reduced the discount offered to state and Central Government employees on its broadband facilities from 20% to 10%. It has further been reduced to 5% from October 1 onwards.

The Government-run BSNL is currently the market leader in broadband internet services. At the time of launching the service, in order to attract customers, BSNL had offered massive discounts and special schemes. One such scheme was the 20% discount on the monthly bills for employees of the state and CG agencies, and Public Sector Undertakings, officers, and retired employees of these departments.

Subscription for BSNL broadband services soared. Such discounts soon made BSNL the market leader in cable-based internet services, despite the presence of some big private players. Meanwhile, two years ago, BSNL reduced the discounts from 20 percent to ten percent. Although the cash crunch in BSNL was blamed for the move, some accused that the decision was made under pressure from private companies to decrease BSNL’s popularity.

Now, BSNL has reduced the discounts to 5%. In other words, there will be only five percent discount in the monthly rent. The revised discount comes into effect from Thursday, October 01, 2015 onwards. The monthly rental fee was hiked by Rs.50 for the free phone call services between 9 PM to 7 AM.

This is not all. The internet fee has increased multifold in the past five years. The five percent discount for state and Central Government employees, especially pensioners, will be a disappointment. The taxes are far bigger than the discounts. In addition to the charges, 14 percent taxes, including service tax and educational tax, are being levied.