The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly taken over Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) 81-acre in Ghaziabad to set up a policy research and training institute.
In a presidential order, the Ministry of Communications informed that the Advanced Level Telecom Training Centre (ALTTC) campus of over 81 acres including the building and infrastructure, except the enterprise resource planning (ERP) centre and satellite earth station, is now under the possession of the DoT or the National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT). As per the order, BSNL has to take appropriate action to hand over the ALTTC campus to NTIPRIT and send a compliance report to the DoT by December 17, 2023.
The development has been strongly opposed by BSNL’s training centre and groups representing the telco’s workforce. In a letter dated November 13, 2023, the ALTTC head countered the move saying it was a unilateral decision by the DoT, and it was not acceptable as this would adversely affect BSNL’s skill development. The letter mentioned that the presidential order may totally derail the 4G/5G skill development activities of BSNL for meeting the roll-out of 4G services by the operator.
