Public sector telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has started preparing for a new and big financial revival plan to give tough competition to private telecom operators and improve its network connectivity. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has revealed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology that BSNL has presented a capital expenditure (Capex) master plan of ₹77,000 crore for the next 5 years. The main objective of this mega investment is to establish 2 lakh new indigenous 4G mobile towers (sites) across the country, launch 5G services in select commercial and high traffic areas and strengthen the company financially. New target to achieve operational break-even by FY29 According to the report submitted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to the Parliamentary committee, BSNL is now aiming to achieve break-even at the operational level by the financial year 2028-29 (FY29). Earlier, the company had fixed the estimated time for break-even as financial year 2031-32 (FY32). The government believes that this modern expansion of infrastructure will increase the company's coverage capacity to 98 percent nationwide coverage, which will lead to rapid growth in customer base and open new revenue streams. Under this ₹ 77,000 crore detailed investment roadmap of BSNL focusing on 2 lakh new 4G sites and indigenous 5G rollout, the network will be extended to those remote and rural areas of the country where connectivity of private companies is limited. Under the Self-reliant India initiative, 4G networks based entirely on indigenous technology (core software of C-DoT and TCS/Tejas Networks) will be strengthened. Along with this, the company will rapidly complete the trial and rollout of indigenous 5G services in commercial and urban centers to meet the demand for high-speed internet. An integrated customer support system will also be developed to improve the customer service experience. Suggestion of infrastructure sharing between BSNL and Vodafone Idea The Standing Committee of Parliament has also recommended to the Department of Telecommunications that it should soon take a decision on large scale infrastructure sharing between BSNL and the third largest private sector company Vodafone Idea. Since the government also has a major stake in Vodafone Idea, joint use of mobile towers, optical fiber cable (OFC) and spectrum between the two companies will save double the expenditure and significantly reduce the operational costs of both the companies. Financial condition and upcoming challenges: If we look at the past financial data of BSNL, the depreciation pressure on the company has increased due to network expansion and spectrum expenditure. Despite BSNL's revenue increasing to ₹21,199 crore in the financial year 2025-26, its loss increased to ₹4,738 crore. However, the process of capital infusion of additional ₹21,588 crore under the relief packages approved by the government is also underway. Experts believe that if BSNL commissions its 2 lakh new 4G towers within the deadline, it will give a new and consumer-friendly twist to the competition in the Indian telecom market.
