Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has access to the 700 MHz spectrum in India. Apart from Jio, BSNL is the only telco to have this access. However, what does this mean for BSNL? To understand what it means for BSNL, first let's understand why the 700 MHz band is so crucial! If you don't understand frequencies, worry not, you don't need to. I will make it simple for you. The 700 MHz band is good for coverage, but not much for speeds, that's all you need to understand. The higher the frequency, the better the speed capacity, but the poorer the coverage and vice versa. The 700 MHz band falls in the lower end frequencies, as the higher ones used for mobile communications are 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, and 3.5 GHz in India.
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So why is 700 MHz good for BSNL?
The 700 MHz band spectrum was priced very expensive by the government, and thus, the private telecom operators have skipped acquiring the said band until Jio went all in and acquired 10 MHz in the 700 MHz band for all the LSAs (licensed service areas). BSNL, of course, did not need to pay for the 700 MHz band like Jio did. The government simply bundled the pricey band for BSNL at no cost in the relief package.
Why did the government reserve the 700 MHz band for BSNL?
Well, the answer is simple, BSNL can use it to offer extensive coverage with 4G and 5G. BSNL will use the 700 MHz band in offering 4G at a lower cost to the customers in rural India. With the 700 MHz band, the distance at which cells or towers operate can be increased. This simply means that the infrastructure cost for setting up mobile networks will reduce for BSNL compared to if the telco would have been using the 900 MHz band for coverage.
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However, the 700 MHz band is not great for 4G or 5G speeds. But that's fine. The priority for BSNL would be to roll out 4G and provide maximum coverage to its customers. This way, BSNL can add new customers as its 4G plans are the cheapest in the country, and would make for a good option for the secondary SIM.
Many users have already ported to BSNL when private telcos increased tariffs. This enabled BSNL to add new users in the months of July and August 2024. However, to sustain this momentum of adding new users, BSNL will have to bring high-speed internet services throughout the country fast.
