In a significant move, as part of the revival strategy, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the third revival package for BSNL with a total outlay of Rs 89,047 crore.

It includes allotment of 4G/5G spectrum for BSNL through equity infusion. The authorized capital of BSNL will be increased from Rs 1,50,000 crore to Rs 2,10,000 crore.

With this revival package, BSNL will emerge as a stable telecom service provider focused on providing connectivity to remotest parts of India.

The spectrum allotment will enable BSNL to provide pan-India 4G and 5G services; 4G coverage in rural and uncovered villages under various connectivity projects; Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services for high-speed internet; and services/spectrum for Captive Non-Public Network (CNPN).

The Government had approved the first revival package for BSNL/MTNL in 2019. It amounted to Rs 69,000 crore and brought stability in BSNL/MTNL.

In 2022, the Government approved second revival package for BSNL/MTNL amounting to Rs 1.64 lakh crore. It provided financial support for capex, viability gap funding for rural landlines, financial support for de-stressing the balance sheet, and settlement of AGR dues and merger of BBNL with BSNL.

As a result of these two packages, BSNL has started earning operating profits since FY 2021-22. The total debt of BSNL has reduced from Rs 32,944 crore to Rs 22,289 crore.

BSNL earned revenue of Rs 18595 crore in 2020-21; Rs 19053 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 20,699 crore in 2022-23. The operating profit for the respective years has been Rs 1,177 crore, Rs 944 crore, and Rs 1,559 crore.

BSNL has achieved strong growth in the home fiber segment. It is providing more than one lakh new connections every month. The total home fiber subscriber base of BSNL in May 2023 is 30.88 lakh. The total revenue from home fiber last year was Rs 2,071 crore.

Telecom technology is a strategic technology with a limited number of end-to-end technology providers in the world. Under the Atmanirbhar vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s own 4G/5G technology stack has been successfully developed.

The deployment has started. After a few months of field deployment, it will be rapidly rolled out across the country on BSNL network.