BSNL looks to ring in 100 million 4G customers in a couple of years

State-run BSNL seeks to get 100 million customers to use its 4G service in the next 12-24 months as it rolls out the services across the country, Union Minister of Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw told Business Standard.  Currently, there are about 769 million 4G users in the country, out of total 1,100 million total telecom users. 

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and MTNL have a combined 105 million total telecom subscribers, or around 9.1 per cent of the total market, though they are 2G or 3G users.

It also plans to launch 5G services by end of the current year and have substantial coverage by the middle of next year, stepping up work after years of wavering commitment. “The rollout of 4G has already begun and we expect substantial coverage by the end of the year. We expect to get 100 million 4G customers in a year or two, and 5G will be launched in the end of the year,” said Vaishnaw. 

A few days ago, the telecom firm gave an advance purchase order valued at Rs 15,000 crore to a consortium led by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which included Tejas Software (controlled by Tatas), to supply radio access network and C-Dot technology.

A group of ministers had earlier cleared funds worth Rs 24,500 crore for BSNL to set up spectrum services at 100,000 sites, buy network gear, third-party items, and for annual maintenance contracts for 10 years.

In parts of the country, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, BSNL has a strong brand recall.

Analysts said that BSNL could target shifting its existing 2G and 3G customers, a stable base, to 4G and substantially increase its average revenue per user. It could also woo subscribers of Vodafone Idea, a private firm which has not yet launched 5G services and is losing subscribers. Vodafone Idea has more than 100 million 2G customers.

For competitive 4G and 5G services, BSNL and MTNL would require deeper networks and more towers powered by new technologies. The two operators have already deployed 200,000 5G towers.

BSNL’s foray into 4G and 5G is unique as the technology stack and the core was developed entirely indigenously and the bidder for the contract was limited to home-grown companies. The government is now also pushing for India to export the 4G  telecom stack to markets abroad. Reliance Jio, which too has designed its own stack and core on its own, plans doing the same.