BSNL completes preparations for the destruction of Airtel and Jio
State-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has ordered around 3,500 4G Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) at various locations across the country. This company, which has been struggling with losses in recent years, has set a target of starting 4G service across the country soon.
BSNL CMD PK Purwar said that these BTS are providing 4G service on trial and commercial basis. “Our 4G testing services have started. We have ordered 3,500 4G BTS and plan to increase the number soon,” he said. Purwar said that the company aims to launch its 5G network by the end of this year. Indigenous technology will be used for this. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), BSNL’s share in the telecom market was 7.94% at the end of December last year.
Recently BSNL had issued a tender worth about Rs 65,000 crore for the third phase of BharatNet project. This is part of a project worth about Rs 1.4 lakh crore. In this, internet connectivity will be provided to more than two lakh gram panchayats. Many telecom equipment related companies like Ericsson, HFCL, STL, TCS can compete in this tender. The companies selected for this project will also have to operate the network in Gram Panchayats for 10 years. BSNL has invited bids for 16 states and union territories. These include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry. As per the terms of this tender, the minimum net worth of the company should be Rs 50-375 million depending on the state for which the tender is being submitted.
BSNL’s consolidated net loss in the third quarter of the current financial year has increased to approximately Rs 1,569 crore on a quarterly basis. In the last quarter it was Rs 1,481 crore. However, the company’s losses kept decreasing year after year. In the same period of the last financial year, this loss was Rs 1,868 crore. BSNL’s revenue in the third quarter stood at Rs 4,549 crore, which is 11.6% more than the previous quarter. An increase of about 2.5% compared to the previous year.
