India's telecom sector is in the midst of a structural transformation, driven by the rollout of 5G technology, the advent of satellite communication, and increasing competition, according to Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, who gave an overview of the sector in an interaction with The New Indian Express.
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BSNL's Turnaround and 4G Expansion
Public sector telecom operator BSNL has reported profits for two consecutive quarters, marking a turnaround driven by network expansion and operational improvements. The company has installed close to 100,000 4G towers in the past year, of which around 70,000 are currently active.
"All these towers are performing better. So, obviously, we are increasing the customer base. There is a component of that. There is also a component of spending control, and overall efficiency is being improved at BSNL. All these factors have culminated in profitability, but the profit is around Rs 250 crores. That's not our target; it's actually just a tipping point. If the 4G rollout goes according to our plan, ideally, we should be generating a lot more revenue and expanding our customer base," the minister reportedly said.
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Government Plans for 100,000 More Towers
BSNL is now preparing to scale further. The government plans to seek Cabinet approval for another 100,000 4G towers. Efforts are also underway to monetise BSNL's assets and boost cash flow to support future investments, including potential 5G infrastructure.
While BSNL continues to gain subscribers each month, it remains limited in scale compared to private players such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, both of which operate over 500,000 towers. The minister acknowledged this gap and stressed the importance of infrastructure expansion to compete effectively.
"We are gaining subscribers every month. One major limitation is that BSNL only has 100,000 4G towers. If you look at Reliance and Airtel, they have over 500,000–600,000 towers. After completing installation of 100,000 4G towers, we are going to request approval from the Cabinet for another 100,000 towers," the minister was quoted as saying.
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Satellite Internet and Competitive Landscape
On the satellite communication front, licenses have been issued to three players, including Starlink. While basic infrastructure is already in place, the timeline for service launch depends on the operators.
According to the minister, satellite internet will serve as a complementary service, especially in remote and maritime areas. Satellite services, he clarified, are not intended to replace terrestrial mobile networks and are unlikely to significantly disrupt existing telecom operators.
"It is important to remember that Starlink isn't going to bring millions and millions of customers into the fold. It will play a minor role compared to the rest of the telecom infrastructure. That's because it is expensive, and there will be speed issues," Pemmasani said, talking about the satellite services.
"It [satellite service] will be a bit more expensive compared to terrestrial networks. The speed of satellite internet is much slower than that of terrestrial networks. Besides, satellite internet is not intended for mobile services; it's only for internet service, at least for now. Satellite communication will function more as a backup rather than a primary service," the minister was quoted as saying, clarifying the business competitive landscape in India.
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Tariffs and Competition
Addressing concerns around rising tariffs, the minister noted that despite recent price hikes, India's telecom rates remain among the lowest globally. He acknowledged that operators have invested heavily in 5G and face shareholder pressure to deliver returns. However, he said effective competition—supported by at least three to four strong players—will help maintain price stability over time.
Quality of Service Gets a Granular Upgrade
To improve quality of service, the government has revised its monitoring framework. Performance reviews, which were earlier conducted quarterly, are now done monthly. Additionally, monitoring has shifted from the base station level to the individual cell level, offering greater granularity.
"We are taking a closer look at the quality of service in the country now. We used to monitor and report on a quarterly basis, but now we've changed it to monthly reports. Previously, we monitored at the cell tower (BTS) level. Now, each BTS has 12 cells, so we are monitoring at the cellular level. The intensity and depth of this quality of service monitoring have been revamped," he reportedly said.
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