Why Is BSNL Losing Market Despite Saving Expenditure Cost?

BSNL has taken several measures to reduce its debt, but still, it has failed to make profits. The state-run telecom operator BSNL has saved Rs. 10,000 crore annually as it has reduced its expenditure to Rs. 24,687 crores from Rs. 34,400 crores. The company has managed to save money due to its Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) scheme under the revival package.

After saving Rs. 10, 000 crores, the parliamentary committee on IT said that telecom operator might not be profitable before 2023-24. "BSNL has stated that it expects to be profitable from 2023-24 onwards, subject to a full realization of the revenue and cash flow from services as well as monetization of land assets as envisaged at the stage of processing of the revival package. However, BSNL has become Ebitda-positive," the committee said in a report.

BSNL Not Offering Proper 4G Services

The report also asks the Department of Telecommunication that why BSNL and MTNL have not given a 4G spectrum yet despite BSNL has floated the tender several times. Notably, the tender has been rejected as it has been asked to use domestic vendors.
Apart from the 4G services, the Government approved the revival package of both BSNL and MTNL in 2019. The revival package includes a VRS scheme, 4G spectrum, merger of both public sector undertakings, and monetization of assets (including both core and non). Notably, 92,956 employees of the telecom operators have opted for the VRS scheme.

It is also expected that the merger of both telecom operators will help BSNL increase its presence in the country. Besides, a group of ministers said that BSNL will be given a 4G spectrum for offering services in Delhi and Mumbai. Furthermore, the report said that 4G services will increase the revenue of the telecom operator.

BSNL 4G Plans In India: Details

Even though it is not offering proper 4G services in the country. The operator has upgraded its 3G sites to offer the same to its customers Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chennai, and Tamil Nadu.

Currently, the company is offering 18 4G packs in the country. These plans are priced at Rs. 56, Rs. 187, Rs. 151, Rs. 251, Rs. 599, Rs. 153, Rs. 365, Rs. 399, Rs. 429, Rs. 485, Rs. 666, Rs. 699, Rs. 997, Rs. 1,098, Rs. 1,999, Rs. 2,399, STV 7, and STV 16. The telecom operator has also introduced a free 4G SIM offer in Kerala. Earlier, it used to charge Rs. 20 for the SIM, but now it is completely free as it wants to gain subscribers in the circle.

Why Is BSNL Losing Market Share?

All private telecom operators have already gained market share in 4G services and now they are looking at a 5G network. In fact, both Reliance Jio and Airtel have already started testing 5G services in the country. However, 5G is still far away, so even if BSNL gets a proper 4G spectrum in the next two or three months, there are chances that it will survive in the industry.