Cabinet nod for BSNL to hive 66,000 Towers

New Delhi Sept 13: The union cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken some crucial decisions.

* The Cabinet yesterday has approved the hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company which will be fully-owned by BSNL.

* Currently BSNL has 66000 towers across the country

* The company will sell all its towers within two years

* Currently 4,42,000 mobile towers are present in the country.

Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has said that "BSNL's towers currently have a tenancy ratio of 1.14, which compares with an average 1.9 for other tower operators."

Minister has also said that "in coming days when business will increase, new employment opportunities will be created".

Finally, He has said that "1,614 people will go on deputation from BSNL and the department of telecom to work in the tower unit".

The government hopes that hiving of the towers will help the company to raise the funds and better quality services can be delivered.