Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is planning to raise a long-term loan ranging between Rs 120 billion to Rs 150 billion for a period of 5 to 7 years. The operator has hired SBI Capital for assistance in this regard.
The cash strapped operator is looking for several options to raise funds and revive its financial position.
It is also planning to seek a loan worth Rs 50 billion loan from Department of Telecommunication (DoT). It also has plans to lease out its tower and network bandwidth. BSNL has already sent a proposal to DoT to surrender its broadband wireless (BWA) spectrum in few of the circles and is seeking a refund of over Rs 85 billion.
The company is also looking to cut costs by outsourcing its telecom tower management business. Recently, it has announced its plans to auction its spare fiber optic bandwidth to earn additional revenue.
Further, BSNL has also proposed to offer a voluntary retirement scheme to its employees. The operator expects the move to reduce its staff strength by a third. The proposal is currently with the government.
The company had registered a loss of over Rs 60 billion crore for 2010-11, mainly due to high staff cost and payments made for acquiring 3G and BWA spectrum.
