Minister of state for communications and rural development, in a written reply to question in the Lok Sabha said that with a view to strengthen Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and to make it robust, competitive and viable, the government has approved three revival packages to BSNL amounting to approximately Rs 3.22 trillion. These packages cover capital infusion, debt restructuring, viability gap funding for rural telephony, and the provision of 4G/5G spectrum, among other measures.
The government has administratively assigned spectrum to BSNL in frequency bands of 700 megahertz (MHz), 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2500 MHz and 3300 MHz at auction-determined prices for providing 4G and 5G services.
As a result of the revival packages given to BSNL, BSNL has started earning operating profits from financial year 2020-21. BSNL has added 13,748 number of 2G BTS, 39,722 number of 3G BTS (NodeB) and 1,03,305 number of 4G BTS (eNodeB) since 2014.
To strengthening the telecom services, BSNL is rolling out 100,000 indigenously developed 4G sites for pan India deployment. As on February 28, 2026, a total of 97,906 4G sites have been installed and 96,103 4G sites are on-air.
Further, Amended Bharatnet program has been approved by the union cabinet on August 04, 2023 with an outlay of Rs 1.39 trillion to extend fibre to all gram panchayats and villages on demand basis, including provisions for 150 million high speed FTTH broadband connections in rural areas. BSNL is the project management agency for this scheme.
To further expand the network coverage in border and remote areas, the government is implementing various schemes such as 4G Saturation Scheme, border out post (BOP)/Border intelligence post (BIP) etc.
