BSNL’s 4G subscriber base hits 800K in North India

The 4G subscriber base of state-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has reached 800,000 in the initial launch phase across North Indian regions of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and western Uttar Pradesh. This follows the deployment of an indigenous network developed in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services and the government’s Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), according to a senior Department of Telecommunications (DoT) official.

The official outlined a more pragmatic road map for BSNL’s 4G deployment and the subsequent 5G launch. “We expect the core of the network to be installed in the eastern, western, and southern regions by August. The nationwide rollout is scheduled to coincide with the festival season, followed by the introduction of 5G services within the next 12 months,” said the DoT official, who did not wish to be named.

BSNL has installed over 3,500 4G towers and aims for a full-scale commercial launch across India upon reaching 20,000 towers. Last May, Information Technology and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said the company was aiming to secure 100 million 4G customers within 12 to 24 months, alongside its plans to erect 100,000 towers nationwide.

However, the rollout has faced delays amid challenges and some teething troubled with the first domestically built network. Though DoT officials were earlier eyeing a 5G launch by the end of the year, this ambitious plan has now been deferred to the end of next year.
BSNL’s private-sector peer Reliance Jio, meanwhile, has nearly completed its 5G network expansion in just over a year.

As of February 2024, BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), another state-owned telecom company with operations in New Delhi and Mumbai, together had 86.9 million subscribers, with less than one per cent of them utilising 4G services — a market share of 7.95 per cent. This figure indicates a decline from a previous subscriber base of 90-100 million. In February last year, the company held a 9.36 per cent market share, with 94.1 million subscribers.

Amid concerns over the shrinking subscriber base, the BSNL Employees Union has urged the government to permit the use of the 4G network of Vodafone-Idea — in which the government is a significant stakeholder — to provide immediate service enhancements. Business Standard