Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the third-largest internet service provider (ISP) in India has millions of fixed-broadband customers. As of September 30, 2023, the state-run telecom operator had provided a total of 32,99,535 or 3.29 million fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connections to customers. The home fiber segment is a major revenue contributor for BSNL. BSNL also poses as a decent option for customers in rural India who are looking to purchase a FTTH connection. For rural areas, BSNL Bharat Fibre has several exclusive plans such as the Rs 329 option and more.
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BSNL used to be the largest fixed-broadband player in India in terms of subscriber market share. However, that position now belongs to Jio and at the second rank stands Airtel. BSNL has slipped to the third rank and is likely going to stay there as the private telcos have more capacity to serve customers and market their services.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Devusinh Chauhan, minister of state for communications, said, "BSNL is also focusing on home fiber segment and has provided 32,99,535 Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband connections as on 30.09.2023."
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BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) have started earning operational profits FY21, said Chauhan. This could be possible due to the revival packages announced by the central government. In 2019, the govt announced a revival package amounting to Rs 69,021 crore that focused on bringing down the operating costs for BSNL and MTNL. Then in 2022, a Rs 1.64 lakh crore package was released that focused on restricting debt, infusing fresh capital, and viability gap funding for rural telephony along with other things.
Further, in 2023, the government announced the allotment of 4G/5G spectrum to BSNL with a total outlay of Rs 89,047 crore through equity infusion.
