Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), in a regulatory filing today stated that its losses widened to Rs 943.3 crore during Q1 FY 19. The losses stood at Rs 703.1 crore in the corresponding period of 2017-18, according to MTNL's regulatory filing, as reported by PTI. MTNL, which is one of the oldest telecom service providers in the country has been hit the cutthroat competition in the industry. The telco has been under tremendous pressure in recent times with intensified competition in mobile and landline telephony services.
The government-owned telecom service provider which operates in the services areas of Mumbai and Delhi garnered Rs 492.3 crore in revenue from operations during June quarter, which are 25% lower than Rs 657.2 crore notched in the year-ago period. At Rs 1,551.13 crore, its expenses for the quarter were a tad higher compared to the year-ago period.
No Merger On Cards With BSNL
Since the last couple of years, there have been various reports on MTNL's merger with another state-run telco, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). But very recently, all these rumours were kept aside by telecom minister Manoj Sinha stating the government is coming up with a revival plan for MTNL.
MTNL Not Able to Sustain the Competition
MTNL has its operations in just two circles, unlike BSNL or any other telecom operator offering services across the country. Since the entry of Reliance Jio, MTNL has been posting losses every quarter and the same kept on widening with every passing quarter.
Not only MTNL, every other telco in the country are posting losses due to the aggressive pricing from Reliance Jio.
MTNL Hit Back With Aggressive Tariff Plans, But No 4G is Hurting the Telco
MTNL is another telco along with BSNL which are yet to launch 4G services in India. While private telecom service providers are making heavy investments in developing the 4G network, MTNL and BSNL are still providing 3G services in the country with sub-par download speeds. Even though both the telcos are offering aggressive tariff plans, consumers are leaning towards high-speed 4G connections from private telecom service providers.
