Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is readying to launch 4G in 1 lakh sites by the end of the current financial year. So far, the state-run telecom operator has deployed 25000 sites. This leaves only 75000 sites more to go. The statement from telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tells that authorities are now tracking BSNL's daily 4G rollout targets. An official from the company has even confirmed that BSNL will look to upgrade its 4G to 5G by Sankranti in 2025.
However, it is not 4G or 5G that will bring the customer trust back into the company. BSNL lacks the "modern" factor. Most of us will imagine BSNL workers as old, sitting in rusty buildings with slow fans and dim lights. The inferior network performance coupled with this legacy image has hurt BSNL's business over the years.
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Customers can flock back in with incentives. The real win for BSNL would come from retaining them for the long term and push them to subscribe with higher priced plans. 4G and 5G are just entry-points for marketing, but the real test would come in handling network capacity and providing competitive coverage compared to the private telecom operators. BSNL has roped in Boston Consulting Group (BCG), an American company to take help in reviving business with new plans. BCG is also said to help the state-run telecom company in improving its marketing activites in the later phase of work.
In the present scenario, BSNL is losing customers, and that too rapidly. Sure, we may see some additions or a slowdown in susbcriber loss due to the tariff hike. But this would be a temporary thing. Even Vodafone Idea's (Vi) CEO said recently that they are not worried about losing customers to BSNL in the short-term, as these customers would eventually come back when they want a decent 4G network experience.
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As private competitors invest more in improving network and advancing technology infrastructure, BSNL has to double down on its priorities and show a glimmer of hope to Indians who want more affordable services for their secondary SIM cards. The company's active user base has slid below 50 million and the overall user base is below 90 million.
The state-run telecom operator is not only losing market share in the wireless segment, but also in the wireline segment. The company's future looks bleak from this point. However, if fundamentals were to be worked on in the short-term, it would greatly help. BSNL should also focus on leasing more of its infrastructure to the private telecom companies as a source of additional income.
So, can BSNL make a comeback?
The answer is both yes and no. Ever heard about the Schrodinger's Cat experiment? In the experiment, the cat is put inside a box with some poison and the box is closed. Until you lift the box, the cat is both alive and dead. BSNL is inside a similar box. Now, when we lift the box a few years later, we will get to know what will really happen. For now, BSNL is both working and not working. The work is ongoing and thus there's nothing to conclude.
