Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-owned company, is the only telecom operator that stands in a confused state right now. Vodafone Idea has received the relief it needed, but BSNL is still standing where it was a few months back. The telco has not received any major support from the government in recent times. Further, its 4G rollout scenario is still in a messed up state because there’s no clarity on what should happen next.
BSNL has a network presence all across India. In most of the major circles, it is just about upgrading the 3G network to 4G. But the telco has been burdened by the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ drive of the government.
There’s no doubt that it is a beneficial initiative for the country by the Modi government, but it is also taking its toll on BSNL.
BSNL Doesn’t Have Time
It is not a very simple scenario with BSNL. The telco just doesn’t have any time left with itself. Even Vodafone Idea will now be gearing up to capture larger market share aggressively by investing more in its networks as its cash flow situation is going to get a major boost on the back of the relief measures announced by the government.
But What will BSNL do? More importantly, what can it really do if not roll out 4G networks. Maybe the cost of the reliable India mission will have to be paid by the state-run telecom operator, the way it is already doing so.
The government should at least give BSNL the option to upgrade to 4G networks in select regions with companies such as Nokia and Ericsson. These are not Indian firms, but they are not Chinese either. This will help in expediting the 4G rollout plans of the telco. BSNL is in deep waters right now; the telco needs serious support from the government. Without 4G, BSNL will not even have a chance to go to 5G. It will seriously be a shame if the other operators start providing 5G services and BSNL still can’t roll out 4G.
