BSNL added over added over 55 million new users between July and August with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio bearing the brunt of the losses, losing over 40 lakh users during the same period.
State-owned telecom provider, BSNL, which has witnessed a resurgence of late, has reached another milestone, adding over 65 lakh new subscribers to its expanding network in the last two months. With its competitive pricing, BSNL is now posing a stiff challenge to industry leaders such as Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal’s Airtel.
According to Department of Telecommunications (DoT), BSNL gained 65 lakh new users in the last two months. “I see a huge opportunity in BSNL,” Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said while hailing government-owned telco’s revival and expansion. Scindia said BSNL has made a good start by rapidly adding new users due to its customer-friendly tariff plans, adding that the government is making efforts to provide better network connectivity to BSNL users.
BSNL’s revival
Over the past few months, BSNL has witnessed a stunning revival, with lakhs of users switching to the state-owned provider since private telcos Airtel, Jio and Vi, raised their tariffs by a huge margin in July this year. This proved to be a boon for BSNL as it added over added over 55 million new users between July and August with Reliance Jio bearing the brunt of the losses, losing over 40 lakh users during the same period.
Notably, BSNL has announced that it will not raise tariffs in the near future and its entire focus is to provide better connectivity to its users. As part of its expansion plan, BSNL recently installed 51,000 new 4G mobile towers, out of which more than 41,000 towers are currently operational.
According to officials, BSNL plans to install one lakh 4G mobile towers by June 2025, after which it will launch commercial 4G service, simultaneously across the country. The state-owned telecom company is also testing its 5G network, and plans to launch its 5G service, shortly after its 4G network goes live.
Recently, BSNL also became the first telecom provider in India to launch the satellite-to-device service at the Mobile World Congress 2024. The satellite-based service, which is primarily aimed to establish communication during emergencies, will allow users to make calls without the need of a physical SIM card or access to land-based mobile networks.