The regeneration of BSNL, the state-owned telco that only a few years ago looked bereft of life and destined to join India’s telco scrapheap, looks to be complete, with the operator now positioned by the government as the shop window for indigenous mobile network technology and, after years of decline, set for growth.
The revitalisation of BSNL, which had for years been in a state of decline as privately owned Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel wrested for control of India’s telecom services sector, is testimony to the determination of India’s government to support and promote technology that has been domestically developed and produced, underpinned by a massive injection of state funds. In 2022, BSNL was handed a revival package of cash and assets worth more than $20bn and, as a result of that support, invested 250bn rupees ($2.8bn) in its network in the financial year that ended in March 2025, its highest ever annual capital expenditure (capex) outlay. That was followed by an announcement from the government’s Department of Telecom (DoT) in August this year of a new 470bn rupees ($5.3bn) capex plan for BSNL.
The investment is having an impact. BSNL had previously not had the funds to upgrade its radio access network (RAN), so is only now in the throes of rolling out its 4G network. That puts it a long way behind Jio and Airtel, both of which already have nationwide 5G networks, and the country’s third main privately owned operator Vodafone Idea, which is currently rolling out its 5G network and services.
But BSNL is making up for lost time. The 2024-25 capex budget was largely invested in the deployment of home-grown 4G radio access network equipment at 92,000 sites (of a total 98,000 planned sites) that reach more than 22 million of the operator’s 90 million customer base. The indigenous 4G technology stack deployed by BSNL, which is all upgradeable to 5G without a rip-and-replace process, comprises a core platform developed by C-DOT (the state-run Centre for Development of Telematics) and RAN technology developed by Tejas Networks (which is majority-owned by giant Indian conglomerate Tata Groupwith the systems integration and deployment work undertaken by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
The Indian government is proud of the development and regards it as a showcase for the country’s telecom tech talent. “India has marked a historic milestone with the launch of its first fully indigenous 4G (5G-ready) network and the commissioning of nearly 98,000 Swadeshi 4G towers, all powered by homegrown technology,” noted the Indian government in this recent announcement. It added: “This achievement places India among five nations capable of launching fully homegrown 4G services, reinforcing the Swadeshi spirit. BSNL’s cloud-native, 5G-ready 4G stack ensures immediate connectivity while enabling seamless upgrades, nurturing domestic talent, and strengthening supply chains.” (It describes the “Swadeshi ethos” as “transforming an idea into a growth engine that promotes domestic production, cultivates indigenous skills, inspires community enterprise and embeds economic dignity into everyday life.”)
As we reported earlier this yearBSNL has been testing the capabilities of its new network with trials of a cutting-edge 5G-enabled fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband service called Quantum 5G FWA (even though it has nothing to do with quantum computing or quantum-safe security).
Such developments aren’t just about domestic prowess, though. The government has its eyes on overseas business for this homegrown tech stack. “The fully indigenous 4G stack is not only meeting India’s internal requirements but is also designed with export potential, with several countries having already expressed interest,” noted the government.
And even though BSNL has only just dipped its toes into the 4G waters – it started with a ‘soft launch’ in Delhi in August – the government is keen for 5G to be on the telco’s services menu within months, it seems: According to The New Indian Expresswhich cited comments from a DoT executive, BSNL is set to launch its initial 5G services in Delhi and Mumbai before the end of this year. The operator is also expected to invest in new datacentre facilities to support its 4G and 5G service launches.
The revitalisation is also having an impact on BSNL’s financials. In the final calendar quarter of 2024, it recorded its first quarterly operating profit in 17 years and, according to the government, it has recorded “consecutive profitable quarters after 17 years of financial strain”.
And in the past few days, India’s telecom minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, told attendees at an economic summit that BSNL has recorded an operating profit of 53.96bn rupees ($608m) during the first six months of the current financial year and that all of BSNL’s towers will be upgraded to enable 5G services within the next six to eight months. Scindia also suggested that BSNL’s customer base is now growing for the first time in many years, though there have been no official announcements about such a turnaround.
All of these developments are encouraging for BSNL, which looks like it has a long-term future, but it has a long way to go before it can meaningfully compete with the country’s three main mobile operators. At the end of July, having lost customers during that month, it had 90.4 million subscribers, giving it a market share of 7.8%, and it has a long way to go before it can become financially self-sufficient. Scindia is reportedly pressing BSNL’s management to show a return on the government’s investment by significantly increasing the company’s revenues and average revenue per user (ARPU) numbers, something that will likely only be possible once BSNL has commercial 4G services widely available.
The subscriber numbers from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will be interesting to watch in the coming months and it’s possible we might hear more about BSNL’s rehabilitation during the India Mobile Congress event that takes place in Delhi over the coming few days.
– Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV