Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has awarded a contract worth Rs 5.50 billion to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for setting up 6,000 4G sites across the country. As per plan, initially the 4G sites will be set up at locations that have high revenue potential and where the infrastructure is 4G-ready, followed by a pan-India rollout later.
As per the latest update, BSNL plans to set up over 100,000 4G sites across the country with an outlay of Rs 126.10 billion in three years. Trials with TCS have been completed now and BSNL has placed an order for 40-watt radios to the company for rolling out the network.
With the launch of 4G services, BSNL expects to get profitable. The company has been consistently losing revenue and customer market share in the highly competitive telecom market in the country. The average revenue per user (ARPU) of BSNL stands at Rs 89 as against the current industry figures of Rs 143. The operator visualises the lack of 4G services to be the key reason for its losses. The aforesaid move is expected to help BSNL compete with other players.
