DoT may offer Rs 11,000 crore to revive BSNL

Follow Us

The department of telecom (DoT) is planning to offer a soft loan to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore to the loss-making state-run telecom operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL). This seems to be a move to address BSNL's concerns about taking on MTNL's mammoth debt on its books.

BSNL-logo




As on March 31 (2014), the total debts in the books of BSNL and MTNL stand at Rs 5,948 and Rs 14,210 crore respectively.

The biggest problem for these companies is high employee cost and the legacy of their local fixed line businesses. BSNL has 25 times more employees than Bharti Airtel, the top telecom operator, with half the revenue. MTNL has three and a half times more employees, with barely a tenth of Bharti’s revenue. Note that till 2008, both BSNL and MTNL were among India’s most cash-rich companies, with combined cash and equivalents of nearly Rs 45,000 crore.
BSNL was India’s fifth largest mobile operator, with around 95 million subscribers, less than half of Bharti Airtel’s 200.4 million subscribers at end of March in this year.

Also Read : BSNL awaits green signal for revival, will it really help BSNL ?

Presently, BSNL is facing heat from smaller private sector operators such as Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel and Uninor. MTNL has operations in Mumbai and Delhi only. The operator's current mobile subscriber base is less than what it had in March 2007. MTNL has become one of the most indebted telecom operators.

Recent Comments

Faraz :

Does Bharti Hexacom provide Airtel 5G services in N.E and Rajasthan Or Both are offering 5G seperately ? Who bought…

Bharti Hexacom IPO Set for April 3, TCIL to Sell…

Faraz :

Nice.. & BSNL 60 Mbps is even perfect plan for many if there are more than 5 devices connected. Many…

BSNL 60 Mbps Plan is Likely One of the Best…

Faraz :

Budget phones have degraded more than any other budget phones since pandemic. They are still selling some craps like Helio…

POCO C61 to Launch on March 26, 2024

shivraj roy :

i feel Vi has improved than what it was in 2022 i usually get around 8-10mbps in very heavily dense…

5G Users Consuming 3.6 Times More Data than 4G Users…

biswadeepmondal :

JioAir Fiber is working very well in KPA & HLR. Sadly they don't have any data only plan.

REP: Airtel Expands Network Footprint in Bankura District of West…

Load More
Subscribe
Notify of
17 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments