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To directly challenge the dominance of private companies in the Indian telecom sector, the government telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has played the biggest bet so far. According to the report submitted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, BSNL has prepared a mega-plan of capital expenditure (CapEx) of ₹77,000 crore over the next five years to strengthen its network infrastructure and bring major improvement in connectivity in the country. Through this huge investment, BSNL will aggressively expand 4G and 5G services across the country, which is likely to have a direct impact on the market share of private telecom 'bahubali' and monopoly with expensive recharge plans.

Preparation for 2 lakh new 4G sites and 5G service

Under this ₹77,000 crore five-year mega plan of BSNL, work will mainly be done in the following areas:

• 2 lakh new 4G sites: To extend the 4G network based on indigenous technology to every corner of the country, more than 2 lakh new 4G sites/towers will be installed, which will strengthen the network coverage in both rural and urban areas.

• Strategic 5G Rollout: BSNL will formally launch and aggressively expand its 5G services in high-traffic key cities, industrial areas and strategic locations.

• 98% nationwide coverage: The company aims to extend its fast network reach to 98 percent geographical area of ​​the country.

• Break-even in operations by FY29: On the basis of this extensive investment and improving connectivity, BSNL has set a target of earning profit at operational breakeven by the financial year 2028-29 (FY29), which was earlier considered to be FY32.

Infrastructure sharing also planned with Vodafone-Idea (Vi)

BSNL is not only working by raising huge funds but is also taking the help of strategic partnerships to control costs. BSNL to cut expenses and expand network faster Vodafone-Idea Talks are going on between the two for sharing the tower and optical fiber infrastructure. Since the Government of India has a major stake in both the companies, this partnership can prove to be a game-changer in addressing the shortcomings of the networks of both the companies and increasing the coverage without huge additional expenses.

Why will it become a big threat to private companies?

After the huge increase in the rates of recharge plans by private telecom companies in recent months, a large number of mobile consumers are turning towards cheap and affordable options.

• Affordable Tariff: BSNL currently has the cheapest mobile and broadband data plans in the country.

• Network gap will end: Till now the biggest obstacle in the way of BSNL was weak 4G/5G network and less towers. With this investment of ₹77,000 crore, when 2 lakh new towers will be installed and indigenous 4G/5G speed will be available, then crores of consumers can leave Jio and Airtel and move towards porting to BSNL.

This effort by BSNL to re-launch itself as a strong and competitive national operator will not only increase digital penetration in the country, but will also provide a strong and affordable option to customers in an increasingly expensive telecom market.