Government Sets 25% Subscriber Market Share Target for BSNL by 2025

Government Sets 25% Subscriber Market Share Target for BSNL by 2025

Government Sets 25% Subscriber Market Share Target for BSNL by 2025

Key Highlights:

1. BSNL aims to reach a 25% market share by end of 2025.
2. The company received Rs 3.2 trillion through three revival packages.
3. New CMD Robert Jerard Ravi focuses on 4G/5G rollout and improving services.

As BSNL prepares to launch 4G services, the government has set an ambitious target for the state-owned telecom company to achieve a 25% subscriber market share by the end of 2025. Despite receiving Rs 3.2 trillion through three revival packages, BSNL has struggled with subscriber losses over the past 2.5 years due to the lack of 4G services.

Currently, BSNL’s market share stands at 7.4% with 86.3 million subscribers, significantly behind private operators like Jio (40.6%), Airtel (33.2%), and Vodafone Idea (18.6%).

Robert Jerard Ravi, the new CMD of BSNL, faces the challenge of expediting the 4G/5G rollout, reducing subscriber churn, and enhancing service quality. Ravi, who has a six-month tenure, has prioritized user onboarding issues, accelerating the 4G rollout, and initiating 5G trials.

BSNL’s former CMD, PK Purwar, had set a target of a 20% market share by the end of 2024, emphasizing the importance of the 4G rollout, network uptime, and marketing efforts. However, the company’s progress has been slow, with only 9,000 towers installed for 4G services in regions like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, UP West, and Haryana.

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced the formation of a project management unit (PMU) to monitor BSNL’s 4G deployment daily. Collaborating with Tata Consultancy Services, Tejas Networks, and C-DOT, BSNL awarded contracts worth Rs 19,000 crore for its indigenous 4G network, which can be upgraded to 5G.

In the 2024-25 budget, the Department of Telecommunications allocated Rs 83,416 crore for BSNL, aimed at technology upgrades and restructuring.

Despite narrowing its net loss to Rs 5,367 crore in FY24, BSNL’s revenue from operations grew by only 1% to Rs 19,343.6 crore, missing the Rs 20,008 crore target. The company’s long-term goal is to reach Rs 35,960 crore in revenue by 2027-28.