MTNL to share passive infrastructure

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) plans to share its passive infrastructure, including towers, with private operators.

This is part of its attempts to boost revenue and generate profits two years.

MTNL, which offers services in Delhi and Mumbai, has about 1,400 towers and plans to add 700 more this financial year. It had reported a loss of around Rs 28 billion for 2010-11.

It is believed that MTNL had invited an expression of interest (EoI) for sharing its base transceiver stations (BTS) and other passive infrastructure in Delhi. Subsequently, an EoI for sharing of BTS sites in Mumbai would be issued.

Prior to this, the company had shared a few of its BTS sites with other operators on an experimental basis. Following its success, MTNL has planned to extend it to both the circles it operates in.