BSNL officers claim that its “twin number on a single SIM” feature, which was introduced in Uttar Pradesh (East) and is the first of its kind in India, has caught on and will be expanded soon to other parts of the state, said General Manager, BSNL, Satish Kumar.

The “twin number, single SIM” project was visualised when Government employees, specially policemen, approached the BSNL with a “problem”. According to rules, all Indian Police Service and Provincial Police Service officers are allotted a BSNL Common User Group (CUG) when they join the force. But barring unlimited calls to other CUG numbers, they have to make do with a fixed amount to call on other networks. Kumar said, “The cops were forced to carry two mobile phones, which can be cumbersome. About 50 per cent of subscribers in this scheme today are policemen.” BSNL records show there are 700 plus subscribers of this new service in the UP (East) circle.

Kumar said the subscriber can opt for any combination of numbers — either postpaid or postpaid. Both postpaid and prepaid schemes can also be accommodated on one SIM. “However, as both numbers are configured on a single card, it is essential to keep one mobile number diverted to the other one. Any handset can be used for this,” Kumar added. Deputy Director General of BSNL (Corporate) Anil Jain said, “This feature has been specifically launched in Lucknow. If it is successful here, it will be launched all over the country.”

Apart from this, the BSNL will enable subscribers to browse television channels on handsets. Deputy General Manager Mahendra Srivastava said the company hopes to make this operational before Diwali to subscribers in the east. He said a trial is on with Zee TV to check if it can beam its channels on the GSM network.

“We should provide this facility by November 15,” Srivastava said.

BSNL’s Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is being tested on broadband in the Barabanki district to check if all three services — telephone, broadband and television channels — can be provided through a single cable. Srivastava said. “We have not got the necessary streaming required for GSM (wireless) network. But we are upgrading our software and this might also become operational by November 15,” he said.

BSNL is also providing subscribers a Mobile Paper (mPaper) service. By paying a monthly rental, subscribers can read newspapers on phones. A BSNL official said the introductory offer is Rs 30 per month for one paper and Rs 50 for three.