NEW DELHI: The Centre is committed to the revival and growth of the state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to ensure that the company becomes an important market stabiliser, said union minister of communications Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“Our PM and the Indian government are standing behind BSNL as a rock, absolutely committed to making sure that BSNL grows, revives, and it becomes a very important market stabiliser,” Vaishnaw said.
He underlined BSNL has been providing optical fiber connections and broadband services in rural areas. “They (read: BSNL) have also become profitable now. That's a huge commitment that our government has shown, a huge commitment that our Prime Minister has shown.”
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the third revival package with a total outlay of Rs 89,047 crore for the beleaguered telco. This also includes the allotment of 4G and 5G spectrum through equity infusion.
The authorised capital of BSNL will be increased from Rs 1,50,000 crore to Rs 2,10,000 crore. With this, the Centre expects BSNL to emerge as a “stable telecom service provider” which will be able to provide connectivity to the remotest parts of India.
As part of the latest revival package, BSNL has been allotted 10MHz in the 700MHz band for 22 LSAs worth Rs 46,338.60 crore, 70MHz in 3300MHz band for 22 LSAs worth Rs 26,184.20 crores, 800MHz in 21 LSAs and 650MHz in one LSA in the 26GHz band worth Rs 6,564.93 crore, 20MHz in six LSAs and 10MHz in two LSAs in the 2500MHz band worth Rs 9,428.20 crore. There is also a provision of Rs 531.89 crore for miscellaneous purposes.
The Centre had approved the first revival package for BSNL/MTNL in 2019 of Rs 69,000 crore. A second revival package was approved last year in July amounting to Rs 1.64 lakh crore.
“...if India is a bright spot then telecom is one of the brightest spots,” said Vaishnaw.
BSNL has reportedly issued a purchase order (PO) to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and ITI Limited for 1 lakh 4G sites, even as private telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are aggressively deploying fifth-generation or 5G services across cities. Third-ranked Vodafone Idea is said to be in advanced discussions with vendors for its 5G rollout.
advance purchase order or APO of Rs 15,700 crores to TCS and ITI. Of the
total sites, 20% will be deployed by state-run ITI Limited. BSNL expects a 20% growth in revenue following the mass availability of its 4G services in the country.
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