State-owned telecom giant BSNL on Friday announced that it would invest nearly Rs 23,000 crore to expand its network during 2007-08. It will introduce a slew of value-added services like e-Railway ticketing through GSM-based PCOs and international money transfer.

As part of its expansion plans that will focus in a major way on GSM mobile services and Broadband, particularly in the rural sector, BSNL has also finalised its tender for 22.75 new GSM lines worth Rs 17,200 crore. The letter of intent (LoI) for 13.125 million lines has been already accepted by Ericsson and Nokia. Another LoI for  9.675 million lines would be  shortly issued.

BSNL, which is in the process of finalising a “Vision Plan” for the next three years, will invest Rs 22,880.78 crore in expanding its network during this fiscal. Of the amount, the lion’s share of Rs 7,417 crore will be spent on mobile services.

Funds to the tune of Rs 3,163.95 crore would be invested on Broadband and Internet services.

Funds to the tune of Rs 3,069.26 crore would be spent on fixed & WLL services, while Rs 9,230.57 crore will be spent on other services, including the value-added services. “We would like to launch one value-added service per month on mobiles,” BSNL’s newly-appointed CMD Kuldeep Goyal told reporters here.

Stressing that BSNL had no plans for any upward revision of tariffs at present, Mr Goyal said the company was aiming at recapturing the No.2 position in the GSM segment by next year. It would work towards achieving the No. 1 position.

BSNL has an 82.84 per cent market share in the fixed (landline & WLL-fixed) segment, but only 15.5 per cent share in the mobile (GSM & WLL-mobile) segment, taking its total market share to 28.06 per cent as on August 1. In Broadband, it has a market share of 42.14 per cent and in Internet, its share is  45.2 per cent.

“We plan to add a total of 105 lakh lines fixed and mobile combined, apart from 20 lakh Broadband and nine lakh Internet lines, during 2007-08,” Mr Goyal stated.