BSNL Installs 3,500 4G Towers Across 5 North Indian States: Report

Reported by Yashika Goel March 13th, 2024 at 10:51 am

BSNL's customer base has constantly shrunk as users are migrating to private telcos. Even rural subscriber numbers have been decreasing month on month.

Highlights

BSNL installs 3,500 base transceiver stations in North India.
Plans to extend 4G services to new regions.
Challenges with declining customer base and equipment procurement.

BSNL Installs 3,500 4G Towers Across 5 North Indian States: Report
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced the installation of 3,500 base transceiver stations (BTS) across five key circles in North India, including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh West. Chairman and Managing Director, Pravin Kumar Purwar, revealed the company's plans to extend its 4G services soon to Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and other regions, according to a Business Standard report.

Also Read: BSNL Launches Copper to Fiber Conversion Project in Tamil Nadu

Reportedly, apart from northern states, BSNL has chosen Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana as the first areas for the rollout of its 4G services, with Tamil Nadu slated to witness the deployment post-April. Presently, over 4,200 4G sites are under construction in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the report quoted BSNL officials as saying.

Also Read: BSNL and Vodafone Idea Continue to Lose Wireless Subscribers: TRAI

As reported by TelecomTalk earlier, BSNL's customer base has constantly shrunk as users are migrating to private telcos. Even rural subscriber numbers have been decreasing month on month. BSNL's mobile services market share stood at 7.94 percent as of December 31, 2023.

"The company has mapped out large parts of these states for tower installation, and the exercise is underway," the report said.

The BSNL board followed by a group of ministers had cleared a contract worth Rs 24,500 crore awarded to a consortium led by TCS, which includes CDOT and Tejas Networks, for the procurement of 4G equipment for 100,000 new telecom towers. However, setbacks in equipment delivery have posed challenges to meeting operational timelines.

Also Read: BSNL to Launch 5G Services Starting 2025: Report

Reportedly, the BSNL management has now informed the employees that delays by TCS in delivering the equipment have made adhering to the timeline difficult.

BSNL plans to quickly upgrade 4G services to 5G by June 2024. The Government has been helping BSNL from time to time by announcing revival packages for BSNL and MTNL.