State-run BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.) formed in October, 2000, is World's 7th largest Telecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India: Wireline, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc. Within a span of five years it has become one of the largest public sector units in India .

BSNL has installed a Quality Telecom Network in the country and is now focusing on improving it, expanding the network, introducing new telecom services with ICT applications in villages and wining customer's confidence.

Today, it has about 47.3 million line basic telephone capacity and  4 million WLL capacity. BSNL cellular service, CellOne, has more than 17.8 million cellular customers, garnering 24 percent of all mobile users. The present turnover of BSNL is more than Rs.351,820 million (US $ 8 billion) with net profit to the tune of Rs.99,390 million (US $ 2.26 billion) for last financial year.

State-run BSNL plans to launch Telepresence solutions in partnership with industry leader Polycom . BSNL is in the final stage of discussions with Polycom and could launch the Telepresence solutions in in September 2008, a source said. Telepresence solutions from Polycom, called 'RealPresence' has a seating capacity of 6 to 30.

BSNL has already deployed the required infrastructure at its New Delhi headquarter and is likely to launch the services soon. BSNL has set up a world class multi-gigabit, multi-protocol convergent IP infrastructure that provides convergent services like voice, data and video through the same Backbone and Broadband Access Network. At present there are 0.6 million DataOne broadband customers.

Telepresence offers customers a chance to communicate with each other across the country and borders, where both parties can interact real-time. With corporate houses looking at telepresence as the option to cut travel cost and cope up with the current slowdown, the business of such solutions is booming for both the telecom companies and the network firms by renting them out to enterprises and generating additional revenues.

Telepresence solutions from Polycom called 'RealPresence' has a seating capacity of 6 to 30.

Source:telepresenceoptions