State-run telecom operator has managed to activate a record 2.95 million prepaid connections in March 2017, according to a report from Keralatelecominfo. BSNL has set a target of 2.7 million for the month, but the report states that the company has activated close to 3 million prepaid connections.

The report further states that BSNL has set targets for each telecom circle. In some circles, BSNL has achieved an overwhelming response, whereas, in some circles, the government-owned company fell short of the goals it set.

Amongst the 22 telecom circles in India, BSNL has successfully achieved target in 18 circles including Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Jharkhand, Kolkata, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP (West), UP (East), Uttaranchal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The company missed the set target in four of its telecom circles which include Bihar, North East – II, Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh & Chennai TD.

Out of all the telecom circles, the company recorded over 2 lakh prepaid connections in UP (East), Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Kerala. Most of the circles have recorded over 1 lakh prepaid connections: Orissa, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP (West), Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh.

BSNL has seen a growth of over 200 percent in Himachal Pradesh, where a total of 95,541 new prepaid connections have been opened from the actual set goal of 46,345. In a few circles such as Assam, West Bengal, and Gujarat the number of new connections recorded was almost 200 percent more than the estimated growth.

The overwhelming response could be due to the BSNL’s attractive STV 339 plan, where the company is offering 2GB data per day along with 25 minutes off-net calling per day and unlimited on-net calling. Just after BSNL launching this plan, the firm’s data usage has been doubled, and users have consumed 400TB data on March 19, the credit obviously goes to the STV 339 plan itself.

The report also states that over two lakh prepaid mobile consumers have recharged with STV 339 plan in Kerala circle itself, which tells the entire story. BSNL is yet to combat Reliance Jio’s Dhan Dhana Dhan offer. If the company comes out with something new, they will get more subscribers in coming months.