Page 5 - Bsnl

MTNL board approves 10-year service pact, share-sale proposal with BSNL

The MTNL board has approved a service agreement with BSNL for a period of ten years, and also a slew of other proposals, including share-sale in overseas subsidiary Mahanagar Telephone (Mauritius). The board, during its meeting, has also approved sale of shares of MTNL in MTNL STPI IT Services Ltd or MSITS, according to regulatory filing by MTNL. The board "accorded its approval to enter into a service agreement between BSNL and MTNL for a period of 10 years or unless it is revoked earlier by giving a notice of six months or extended by mutual consent between the parties, subject to approval of the said service agreement by Department of Telecom / Ministry of Company Affairs ," it said. It has also approved a proposal related to sale of shares of MTNL in Mahanagar Telephone (Mauritius) Ltd or MTML - an overseas wholly-owned subsidiary - in line with applicable Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) guidelines and other regulatory processes. The board has also

BSNL to roll out 4G, 5G-ready over-the-air, universal SIM platform

State-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd will roll out 4G and 5G compatible over-the-air (OTA) and Universal SIM (USIM) platform which will enable subscribers to choose their mobile numbers as well as replace SIMs without geographical restrictions. BSNL said that the platform, developed in collaboration with Pyro Holdings, was inaugurated in Chandigarh, with a disaster recovery site in Trichy. "The new 4G and 5G compatible platform is designed to serve all BSNL customers across the country, offering unparalleled connectivity and service quality," BSNL said on Friday. The company is rolling out 4G network gradually across the country. "The introduction of this platform coincides with BSNL's ongoing network upgrades to 4G and 5G, positioning the company at the forefront of telecommunications innovation. This milestone represents a significant step in BSNL's efforts to bridge the digital divide and empower citizens in rural and remote areas, ensuring equitable access to advance

BSNL subscribers on rise, homegrown 4G network ready: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday claimed that the subscriber base for the government-run BSNL has been increasing, while a homegrown 4G network is also ready and work is on to convert it to 5G. Talking to reporters here, the Union minister for communications said under Atmanirbhar Bharat, a 4G network with indigenous technology is ready and, in a few months, its services will be available across the country through the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). "Several people had asked when Jio, Airtel and Vodafone rolled out the 4G network, why not BSNL? It was the prime minister's resolution that if we have to develop a government-run company's network, we will not use equipment from China or any other foreign country," Scindia said. It was decided that an indigenous technology would be developed, he said. "PM Modi has resolved under Atmanirbhar Bharat that India will develop its own 4G stack, core system or towers called radiation access network (RAN). India will devel

BSNL income up at Rs 21,302 cr in FY24; records lowest debt among telcos

State-owned BSNL's total income increased by about 3 per cent to Rs 21,302 crore in the financial year 2023-24, Parliament was informed on Thursday. Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, shared that BSNL's total income was Rs 20,699 crore in 2022-23. The financial data shared by Sekhar shows that BSNL has received Rs 1.16 lakh crore from the revival package approved by the government between financial year (FY) 2020 and FY24. The state-owned firm received Rs 60,203 crore in FY24. The government has approved three revival packages for BSNL and MTNL, comprising Rs 69,000 crore support in 2019, Rs 1.64 lakh crore in 2022 and Rs 89,000 crore in 2023 for allotment of 4G and 5G spectrum. In a separate reply, Sekhar shared a comparative chart of BSNL's debt position as of March 31, 2024, with other telecom operators. According to the chart, BSNL's debt reduced to Rs 23,297 crore in FY24 from Rs 28,092 crore in FY23 and Rs

12,000 4G sites up, BSNL targets nationwide 4G rollout by year-end

4G sites up in all metro cities & most state capitals, 5G service by early-2025

CERT-In reported possible intrusion, data breach at BSNL on May 20: Govt

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) had reported possible intrusion and data breach at state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on May 20, 2024, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. An Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) has been constituted to conduct an audit of the telecom networks and suggest remedial measures for prevention of data breaches in the telecom networks, Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. To a question on data breach in BSNL, the Minister informed that Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reported possible intrusion and data breach at BSNL on May 20, 2024. "The same was analysed and found that one File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server was having the data similar to the sample data shared by CERT-In. No breach into the Home Location Register (HLR) of the telecom network has been reported by the equipment manufacturer, hence no service outage in BSNL's network," he ...

BSNL losses narrow to Rs 5,371 crore in FY24, Ebitda at Rs 2,164 crore

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has reported on-year rise in its Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation or EBITDA to Rs 2,164 crore for FY24, while losses narrowed to Rs 5,371 crore, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. As a result of packages and measures by the government, BSNL/MTNL have started earning operating profits from FY 2020-21, Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. In line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, BSNL has placed a purchase order for 1 lakh 4G sites for deployment of indigenous 4G technology, Sekhar said, adding that the equipment is upgradable to 5G. According to the details of last five years' performance of BSNL shared by the Minister, EBITDA stood at Rs 2,164 crore in FY24, 38.8 per cent more than a year ago. The loss narrowed to Rs 5,371 crore in FY24, from Rs 8,161 crore in FY23. To another question on data breach in BSNL, the Minister said Indian .

DoT will be creating performance monitoring units for BSNL: Scindia

Testing and reimbursement scheme for startups & MSEs announced

Ind-Ra to monitor MTNL as interest payment default triggers govt guarantee

In July 2023, MTNL raised Rs 2,480 crore ($296.97 million) through 10-year government-guaranteed bonds at a semi-annual coupon of 7.59 per cent and the interest payment is due on July 20

'BSNL CMD Purwar denied extension, DoT's Ravi to get additional charge'

The government has denied extension to BSNL Chairman and Managing Director P K Purwar and is likely to give the charge to a senior department of telecom officer Robert J Ravi, official sources said. Purwar, who took charge as BSNL CMD in July 2019 for five years, had applied for an extension. "DoT is mulling to hand over additional charge of BSNL CMD post to DDG Robert J Ravi. There is no decision on extension sought by the present CMD," an official source said. An Indian Telecom Service officer, Ravi, has 34 years of experience in the telecom sector. He is serving as Deputy Director General at the Department of Telecom. This will be Ravi's second stint at BSNL. He had served as additional general manager at the state-run firm for about six years.

Jio, Airtel, Vi, vs BSNL: Tariffs comparison and how to port to BSNL

Recently major telecom companies increased the prices of their plans. Here's a quick tariffs comparison between all the top companies

'BSNL unable to compete with pvt telcos without 4G, 5G, check tariff hike'

State-run BSNL is unable to compete with private telecom operators in the absence of 4G and 5G services due to which there is no restraint on mobile service providers from raising tariff, BSNL Employees Union said on Tuesday. BSNL Employees Union in a letter to the union communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the recent tariff hike by the private telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel is unwarranted as they are profitable companies. "Earlier, due to the competition from BSNL, the private telecom service providers were restrained from increasing their tariffs capriciously. However, the scenario has changed now. BSNL has not been able to launch its 4G and 5G services till date, as a result of which it is handicapped from competing with the private operators and thereby restraining their arbitrary tariff hikes," the letter said. Recently, all three private operators announced an increase in mobile service rates in the range of 10-27 per cent. While new tariff

BSNL data breach exposes 278 GB of sensitive telecom info, twice in 6 mts

A threat actor has claimed to have obtained sensitive data, which includes international mobile subscriber identity numbers, SIM card specifics, home location register data, and security keys

DoT identifies property assets of BSNL and MTNL for 'outright sale'

The government has listed over 100 properties of MTNL for outright sale through an auction process

Govt's telecom revenue for FY24 expected to miss target by Rs 10,000 cr

Under the 2022 revival package totalling Rs 1.64 trillion and the Rs 89,047 crore allocation in 2023, the government is set to provide spectrum and settle adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues for BSNL

BSNL to launch 4G services across India in August; to use indigenous tech

State-owned BSNL will start rolling out 4G services across the country from August, using completely indigenous technology in line with the government's "Atmanirbhar" policy, according to official sources. BSNL officials claimed to have recorded peak speed of 40-45 megabit per second on the 4G network which has been rolled out in the premium spectrum band of 700 megahertz (Mhz) as well as in 2,100 Mhz band during the pilot phase. The company has rolled out 4G services in Punjab using indigenously developed technology by IT company TCS and state-run telecom research organisation C-DoT-led consortium and onboarded around 8 lakh subscribers. "The 4G core developed by C-DoT is performing very well in the BSNL network in Punjab. It was installed in July last year. It takes 12 month to prove the success of such complex technology but the C-DoT core has stabilised within 10 months. BSNL will launch atmanirbhar 4G technology across the country in August," a senior government official, who d

BSNL's 4G subscriber base reaches 800K, 5G rollout likely within 12 months

Though DoT officials were earlier eyeing a 5G launch by the end of the year, the plan has now been deferred to next year

Arbitrator rejects Sterlite Technologies' Rs 145 crore claim against BSNL

An arbitrator has rejected broadband technology company Sterlite Technologies' claims worth Rs 145 crore against BSNL in an optical fibre cable laying project, a regulatory filing said on Friday. Sterlite Technologies (STL) said that it is evaluating options to challenge the award of the arbitrator. "BSNL had deducted payments to the tune of Rs 145.02 crore for trenching done at a depth lesser than 165 cms duly approved by BSNL, due to legitimate site constraints. STL filed its claims towards wrongful imposition of depth penalty by BSNL. The arbitrator has rejected STL's claims vide award dated April 18, 2024," STL said in the filing. The Arbitration was before Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed , former Chief Justice Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

Jio adds 3.59 million users, corners 40% of market share in February

The company's growth has largely come at the expense of Vodafone Idea (Vi), which has been experiencing significant customer attrition for the past 23 months

BSNL installs 3,500 4G towers in 5 northern states: CMD Pravin Kumar Purwar

Tower installations to begin in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh soon