The public sector telco had reported a net loss of Rs 1,569.22 crore in the December quarter of fiscal year 2024.
“This milestone reflects the company’s focus on innovation, aggressive network expansion, cost optimisation, and customer-centric service improvements,” BSNL said in an official statement.
BSNL’s mobility services revenue grew by 15% year-on-year, while fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and leased line services revenue were up by 18% and 14% year-on-year, respectively, according to the statement.
During the quarter, BSNL said it focused on accelerating its fourth-generation or 4G network roll-out and upgrading its optic fiber infrastructure. As a result of its cost optimisation efforts, the company reported a significant reduction in finance costs and overall expenditure, resulting in a decline in losses by over Rs 1,800 crore compared to last year.
BSNL said in the statement that the company is focusing on enhancing services, preparing for fifth-generation (5G) network, and undertaking digital transformation measures.“With these efforts, we expect revenue growth to improve further, exceeding 20% by the end of the financial year,” said Robert J Ravi, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), BSNL. “Additionally, BSNL has successfully reduced its finance cost and overall expenditure, leading to a decline in losses by over Rs 1,800 crore compared to last year,” Ravi said.
Ravi previously told ET that the telco is fast-tracking the nationwide rollout of 4G, and plans to introduce 5G in select locations after the full-scale deployment of 4G services.
“These developments will enhance network coverage, boost digital inclusion, and enable advanced solutions like IoT, AI-driven automation, and smart agriculture. BSNL’s Smart Village Solutions will integrate IoT-based monitoring, e-governance platforms, and digital banking to create self-sustainable rural ecosystems,” he had said during the interview.
Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)-led consortium that includes state-owned Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) is currently deploying 1 lakh sites for BSNL’s commercial 4G foray.
The state-driven telco is looking to enable 5G services on its network simultaneously with 4G, in a bid to prevent subscriber churn.
ET reported recently that Cabient has approved an additional funding support of Rs 6,000 crore for BSNL for its 4G expansion, which will be utilised to fulfil a shortfall in planned capital expenditure by the telco and its Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) subsidiary.
The government has infused around Rs 3.22 lakh crore in BSNL and MTNL as part of three revival packages since 2019, including for the rollout of 4G services. As per the government, due to these packages, BSNL-MTNL started earning operating profits from fiscal 2020-21.
BSNL and private sector telco Vodafone Idea (Vi) are the only carriers without a 5G network presently. Their rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel completed 5G deployments last year, and are already offering commercial 5G-driven fixed wireless access (FWA) service to customers.
To recall, Jio, Airtel, and Vi had raised headline mobile tariffs by 11-25% in early July last year, which caused the companies to lose subscribers for three months subsequently, while BSNL was the only gainer till October.
As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for November, Jio added 1.21 million net subscribers while Vodafone Idea lost 1.50 million followed by Airtel, which lost 1.13 million subscribers. BSNL, which has been adding users over the past four months after the tariff hikes by private telcos last July, lost 0.33 million users.
At the end of November, the wireless subscriber base of Reliance Jio stood at 461.23 million followed by Bharti Airtel at 384.27 million and Vodafone Idea at 208.97 million. BSNL’s user base stood at 92.05 million.
