Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated on Wednesday that the state-owned telecom behemoth BSNL has experienced a turnaround after generating operating profit for the past two years. The company has added subscribers in every single month of the last quarter, and its subscriber base has increased by 50–60 lakhs.
Speaking to the sources, he stated that a network upgrade is enhancing the telephone services provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), which is available in the most remote area.
A rehabilitation package worth Rs 89,047 crore was agreed by the Union cabinet in June of last year to help a state-owned telecom operator that was losing money roll out 4G and 5G services in a market that was dominated by private companies. Over the previous 12 years, BSNL, which is heavily indebted and struggling with inadequate infrastructure, has reported losses.
“Yes, BSNL was losing money in my opinion. However, we have experienced a positive Ebitda for the past two years. Thus, we’re not losing money on Ebitda,” he stated.
Ebitda’s bottom line was still in the negative, despite its bright outlook. When the business will go black was not specified by the minister.
“Even today, it is only BSNL, that is reaching the last village in our country in terms of telecom service,” he stated. BSNL has tremendous potential. He stated that the company has planned to use home-made equipment for the service upgrades the hard way.
The minister pointed out that it is easy to do a business on outsourced infrastructure. He agrees to the point that being in the core service industry, manufacturing is a totally different activity. However BSNL has chosen a hard route. In its efforts of becoming atmanirbhar (self reliant)BSNL will be manufacturing indigenous equipment offering 4G services to the customers.
Making this choice was not simple, and the path was not simple either. “It was a risk. However, I’d venture to say that the gamble has paid off. as 4G is a tested technology in the country today. Additionally, switching from 4G to 5G won’t be too tough. Indeed, we are making up ground today, but our goal is to take the lead tomorrow,” he stated.
According to Scindia, there is cause for fear regarding a default because BSNL has taken over MTNL’s operations and its loans have been guaranteed by the Indian government.
