BSNL Gets 54 Lakh New Subscribers After Tariff Hike by Private Telecom Companies, SIM Card Sales Also Increased

The number of subscribers of government telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has increased in the last few months. The main reason for this is the increase in tariffs of private telecom companies. Big telecom companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel had increased tariffs in July.

a media Report Quoting data from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), it has been said that between July and October, there was a large number of customers shifting from other telecom companies to BSNL. In July, about 15 lakh subscribers from private telecom companies shifted to BSNL. This number increased to about 21 lakh in August, about 11 lakh in September and about seven lakh in October.

Before the private telecom companies increased their tariffs, the number of subscribers who ported to BSNL in June was only 63,709, while the subscribers who shifted to the networks of other telecom companies were around four lakh. Apart from this, the sales of new SIM cards of this government telecom company have also increased. The company had sold about 7,90,000 SIM cards in June. This number increased to about 49 lakh in July, about 50 lakh in August, about 28 lakh in September and about 19 lakh in October. BSNL’s net loss has come down to about Rs 2,785 crore in the first half of this financial year. In the same quarter of the last financial year, this loss was about Rs 2,951 crore.

BSNL has expanded its 4G network rapidly in the last few months. By the end of October, the company had installed more than 50,700 4G sites. Of these, more than 41,950 sites are functional. Recently, Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar had told in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that the 4G equipment the company is using can be upgraded to 5G. He said that under the ‘Self-reliant India’ campaign, the supply of 4G equipment to BSNL started in September last year. As of October, the company had installed 50,708 4G sites and 41,957 sites are operational. The company had hired Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to suggest business improvement strategies. BCG has submitted an interim report in this regard to the company.