Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) expects over Rs 170 billion revenue from services in FY22. This expected revenue is lower than the previous fiscal revenue mainly on the account of removal of call connect charges that used to bring in additional inflows.
According to PK Purwar, chairman and managing director, BSNL, the operator is confident of retaining its customer base and defending its turf with quality 4G services to be launched in the coming months, even as competition intensifies with private telcos gearing up for 5G services. Purwar further noted that against Rs 174.52 billion income from services in FY21, the operator is expected to close this year at over Rs 170 billion of revenue, with slight decline on the account of removal of interconnect usage charges.
The call connect charges, which have been scrapped, was generating an additional revenue stream of about Rs 6-8 billion for the telecom corporation, and its discontinuation has dried up those inflows. While substantial savings were derived on account of voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and maintaining a tight check on operational expenditure (OPEX), the removal of call connect rates impacted the overall realisations, as BSNL used to be a net IUC (interconnect usage charges) gainer.
In addition, the corporation’s focus in the coming fiscal will be on 4G rollout and expansion of fibre to home.
