New Delhi:

BSNL has posted a net profit of Rs 262 crore for December quarter, marking its return to profitability after almost 17 years, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday terming it a “significant turning point” for the state-owned telco that has been focused on expansion of service offerings and subscriber base.

BSNL scripted an improvement on several counts, clinching 14-18 per cent growth across mobility, FTTH and leased line service offering, Scindia, Minister for Communications said adding that the subscriber base too has risen to about 9 crore in December, from 8.4 crore in June.

“Today is an important day for BSNL, and for the journey of the telecom sector in India…BSNL has, in third quarter of FY2024-25, for the first time in 17 years, posted a profit on a quarterly basis. The last time that BSNL posted a quarterly profit was in the year 2007,” he said on BSNL’s earnings.

The net profit came in at about Rs 262 crore in the third quarter of the financial year. Mobility services revenue grew by 15 per cent, Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) revenue increased by 18 per cent and leased line services revenue rose by 14 per cent over Q3 of the previous year.

The Q3 scorecard underlined the telco’s focus on innovation, network expansion, cost optimisation, and customer-centric service improvements.

Additionally, BSNL has cut its finance cost and overall expenditure, leading to a decline in losses by over Rs 1,800 crore compared to last year.

With a view to enhancing customer experience, BSNL has introduced offerings such as National WiFi Roaming, BiTV – Free Entertainment for All Mobile Customers, and IFTV for All FTTH Customers, and first private 5G connectivity for mining.

“We certainly hope that this year will not just see an increase in revenues at the end of fourth quarter for the full financial year, but will also (see BSNL) keep expenditure and costs under control and significantly reduce losses from the figures of last year,” the minister said.

In the last four years, BSNL’s EBITDA doubled from Rs 1,100 crore to almost Rs 2,100 crore as of FY23-24.

“…And this quarter’s return to profitability is a significant turning point for BSNL as it now embarks on providing 4G services to all its subscribers across the length and breadth of the country. Out of 100,000 towers, almost 75,000 have been installed, close to about 60,000 have been commissioned. And we hope that by June of this year all 100,000 towers will be operational,” Scindia said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

After telecom operators, Scindia met telecom equipment makers including Dixon Technologies, Nokia, Ericsson, Sterlite Technologies and VVDN [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Telecom operators in a meeting with Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed concerns over regulator Trai excluding messaging and calling apps like WhatsApp and Telegram in its recommendation on new licensing rules, sources aware of the development said.

Operators also discussed issues concerning adjusted gross revenue payments, they added.

The meeting was attended by Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra, Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal and BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Robert J Ravi.

“All telecom operators expressed concern over the exclusion of over-the-top apps by Trai in its recommendation on Service Authorisation. Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel raised the issue of adjusted gross revenue,” a source said.

Telecom operators have been demanding for a long time to bring calling and messaging apps, called as OTTs, under the ambit of telecom licences as they provide calling and messaging services like any telecom operator.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) did not heed to the demand of telecom operators and kept the apps out of its recommendation on the new licensing rules under the Telecommunications Act 2023.

Vodafone Idea (VIL) shared its concern on the impact of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) issue on the health of the sector, which was also supported by Bharti Airtel.

Last week, the Supreme Court rejected the VIL curative petition on the grounds that it did not meet the criteria for the petition.

VIL has an AGR liability of ₹70,320 crore and Bharti Airtel has about ₹21,500 crore.

Scindia during the meeting discussed the menace of pesky calls and SMS.

“The operators have some concern over unsolicited commercial calls which the DoT has taken note of,” the source said.

After telecom operators, Scindia met telecom equipment makers including Dixon Technologies, Nokia, Ericsson, Sterlite Technologies and VVDN.

Representational image of the BSNL logo on a building
| Photo Credit: G.R.N. Somashekar

The Union government confirmed a data breach in BSNL’s systems, saying that the breach was reported on May 20.

“Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reported possible intrusion and Data Breach at BSNL on 20.05.2024,” Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said on Wednesday in a written response to a Lok Sabha query by Congress MP Amar Singh.

While the breach led to “no service outage,” Dr. Pemmasani said, “one [BSNL] server was having the data similar to the sample data shared by CERT-In.”

An inter-ministerial committee has been formed to “conduct audit of the telecom networks and suggest remedial measures for prevention of data breaches in the telecom networks”, Dr. Pemmasani said.

A report in June by the London-headquartered Athenian Tech said that this “breach involves a substantial amount of sensitive data including International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) numbers, SIM card information, and Home Location Register (HLR) details, among other critical data.”

The data was “critical” enough to provide hackers an opening into BSNL’s networks, the report said, and let attackers “clone” SIM cards of users.

BSNL will gradually increase network deployment to 6,000 and then to 9,000, 12,000 and 15,000 sites per month.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

State-owned telecom firm BSNL is planning to launch 4G service in December at a small scale and then roll it out across the country by June next year, Chairman and Managing Director P.K. Purwar said on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI at the India Mobile Congress, Mr. Purwar said that the company plans to upgrade 4G service to 5G after June.

“BSNL 4G service is ready for launch in Punjab in December. We have already done the hardening required for a network with 200 sites. We are in the process of installing 3,000 sites in Punjab,” Mr. Purwar said.

He said that BSNL will gradually increase network deployment to 6,000 and then to 9,000, 12,000 and 15,000 sites per month.

“Our target is to complete 4G roll-out by June 2024. Post June 2024, we will be moving to 5G services,” Mr. Purwar said.

IT company TCS and government-owned ITI have bagged orders worth about ₹19,000 crore from BSNL for deploying 4G network which is upgradable to 5G.

Mr. Purwar said that the BSNL has enough spectrum to deploy 5G services, once 4G roll-out is completed.

The Indian Army has established the world’s first mobile tower and base transceiver station (BTS) on the Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield on Earth, with the help of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The tower was inaugurated on October 6 and will provide mobile communication services to soldiers at an altitude of over 15,500 feet.

A base transceiver station is a radio transceiver that connects mobile devices to a cellular network. It sends and receives radio signals to mobile devices and converts them to digital signals that are then routed to other devices in the network or to the Internet.

“Siachen Warriors, in collaboration with BSNL, established the first ever BSNL BTS at forward posts of the highest battlefield on October 6 to extend mobile communication for the soldiers deployed at more than 15,500 feet,” the Fire and Fury Corps of the Indian Army posted on X (formerly Twitter).

#IndianArmy#Siachen Warriors in collaboration with BSNL established first ever BSNL BTS at forward posts of the highest battlefield on 06 October to extend mobile communication for the soldiers deployed at more than 15,500 feet#SiachenWarriors@NorthernComd_IA@lg_ladakh… pic.twitter.com/54D8HrXWQe

— @firefurycorps_IA (@firefurycorps) October 12, 2023

Meanwhile, the District Magistrate of Leh, Santosh Sukhadeve, has thanked the Indian Army for their quick response in erecting a fence and clearing an area of over 175 mines.

“On behalf of Phobrang, Yourgo, and Lukung villagers, we thank the Fire and Fury Corps for their swift action in fencing and clearing the area by successfully destroying over 175 mines,” he posted on X.

On behalf of Phobrang, Yourgo, and Lukung villagers, we thank the Fire and Fury Corps @firefurycorps@adgpi for their swift action in fencing and clearing the area by successfully destroying over 175 mines.@lg_ladakh@LAHDC_LEHpic.twitter.com/UtFyV2YpB1

— Santosh Sukhadeve (@santoshsukhdeve) October 12, 2023

Siachen Glacier is known as the highest-altitude battle site in the world and is situated near the Indo-Pak Line of Control. It is the largest glacier in India and the second-largest in the world. It is the highest battleground on earth.

The establishment of a mobile tower on the Siachen Glacier is a significant achievement, given the harsh conditions and the ongoing conflict in the region. The tower will provide soldiers with a much-needed lifeline to their families and loved ones, and it will also improve their ability to communicate with each other and with their commanders.

(With inputs from agencies)