Telecom tales: BSNL seeks more spectrum for launch of 4G services

Government-run telecom operator BSNL is planning to launch 4G services in all the 22 circles in the country, and has sent a detailed project report (DPR) to the Department of Telecom (DoT) regarding the same. The country’s fifth-largest telecom operator has consistently been improving its financial and operational metrics, and to continue the momentum, it plans to launch 4G services, sources said. It already has 20 MHz spectrum in 2,500-MHz band in 14 circles, besides 5 Mhz in 2100 Mhz band in 22 circles. “BSNL has submitted a DPR to DoT for acquiring another 5 Mhz in the 2100 Mhz band in 22 circles. The cost for this is around Rs 9,600-10,000 crore, for which 50% will be through more equity for the government in BSNL while the rest will be paid in annual installments,” sources said. The operator plans to launch 4G services first in its profit-making circles — Kerala and Odisha — in January 2018. However, to launch pan-India 4G services, BSNL requires additional spectrum in the 2100 Mhz band.

Telecom minister Manoj Sinha on Friday told the Rajya Sabha that the Telecom Commission is looking at how to make BSNL competitive and allot it 4G spectrum. He said to allot spectrum to BSNL, directions given by the Supreme Court also have to be followed. Sinha informed the Upper House that the government is focusing on improving mobile internet connectivity in rural areas and increasing the number of BSNL towers. To further improve BSNL’s condition, the Cabinet in September approved hiving off its telecom towers into a wholly owned subsidiary to enable the operator sell or lease more than 66,000 towers, thereby unlocking value from assets. In the past few months, BSNL consistently worked on improving its performance by launching a slew of attractive voice and data plans across segments, which have helped the operator increase its market share and the subscriber base. BSNL had 101.8 million subscribers in April 2017 and a market share of 8.67%. The figures have since risen to 106.4 million subscribers and a market share of 9.03%. BSNL posted losses of Rs 7,019 crore in FY14 and Rs 8,234 crore in FY15. It trimmed losses to Rs 3,880 crore in 2015-16. Revenues increased from Rs 26,153 crore in 2013-14 to Rs27,242 crore in 2014-15 and Rs 28,449 crore in 2015-16.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)