Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is preparing a detailed response to the Department of Expenditure (DoE), contesting the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) claim that the state-run telecom operator suffered a loss of Rs 1,757.76 crore due to non-billing of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) for shared telecom infrastructure between May 2014 and March 2024.
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BSNL Responds to CAG's Allegations
"There is no revenue loss to BSNL, as previous demand, and therefore, loss (of Rs 1,757.76-crore) had been erroneously overestimated due to misrepresentation and application of the clause for add-on components," said the state-run telco in its response, according to an ETTelecom report.
Furthermore, the telecom company is likely to state in its rejoinder that the circles had already issued invoices to Reliance Jio amounting to Rs 108 crore and are actively pursuing the collection of additional charges beyond the standard base rental paid by the private telco.
"BSNL failed to enforce the Master Service Agreement (MSA) with M/s. Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) and did not bill it for the additional technology used on BSNL's shared passive infrastructure, resulting in loss of Rs 1,757.76-crore and penal interest thereon, between May 2014 to March 2024 to the government exchequer," CAG in its report said, as per an earlier report.
The country's auditor apparently overlooked the fact that the agreement with Jio for infrastructure sharing was reciprocal in nature, the report quoted unnamed sources as saying.
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Addendum Signed for 4G Usage Charges
According to the report, BSNL, in its yet-to-be-made submission, also said that the itemised rates already agreed upon by Jio in April 2018 were offered for additional hardware and power for using both TDD and FDD technology beyond the standard configuration.
Following Jio's consent, BSNL reportedly added that an addendum to the Master Service Agreement was signed with Jio on January 31, 2025, outlining the applicable charges for the use of 4G TDD and FDD spectrum.
BSNL has historically monetised its telecom infrastructure by sharing it with private players such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea to reduce capital and operational expenditure.
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Infrastructure Sharing Strategy
To cut down on capital (capex) and operational (opex) expenses, BSNL entered into a telecom infrastructure sharing agreement in 2014 with Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and the then-separate entities Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.
In 2020, then Minister of Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad had informed Parliament that of the 13,146 mobile towers shared by BSNL, 8,363 were with Reliance Jio, 2779 were shared with Bharti Airtel, and 1,782 with Vodafone Idea.
Data available shows that Jio paid BSNL Rs 171.81 crore in 2016–17, Rs 472.80 crore in 2017–18, Rs 678.38 crore in 2018–19, and Rs 402.28 crore in the first three quarters of 2019–20, according to the report.
BSNL is likely to submit its response to the Centre after obtaining the necessary approvals later this month, the report added.
