P.K. Purwar, chairman and managing director, BSNL
State-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has taken significant strides during 2021. In addition to reporting a marked improvement in its financial performance, the telco pushed the pedal on its 4G roll-out. It also obtained a licence for the provision of in-flight and maritime connectivity (IFMC) services. P.K. Purwar, chairman and managing director, BSNL, spoke about the company’s key focus areas and 4G roadmap at various industry events during the past year. Edited excerpts from some of his addresses…
BSNL’s performance
Today, BSNL is an operationally stable organisation and is on the right path with a market share of 10.25 per cent. The only challenge is interest outgo on debt. The company has cleared a majority of vendor payments to both multinationals and domestic firms, bringing these down from Rs 30 billion to under Rs 10 billion.
Asset monetisation
Assets worth close to Rs 10 billion belonging to BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) are on sale. This is the first stage of asset monetisation for BSNL and MTNL. BSNL properties located in Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Bhavnagar and Kolkata have been posted for sale at a reserve price of about Rs 6.6 billion. Further, MTNL assets located in Vasari Hill, Goregaon, Mumbai are for sale at a reserve price of about Rs 3.1 billion. We will proceed as per market demand for asset monetisation. The entire process is planned to be completed soon.
Satellite-based connectivity in Lakshadweep
The government has launched high-capacity satellite-based connectivity for Lakshadweep Islands commissioned by BSNL. BSNL commissioned two satellite gateways with the latest equipment in Bengaluru for bandwidth upgradation. The satellite gateways are designed taking into consideration the weather conditions on the island. The latest technology will provide good data speeds even in challenging weather conditions. The bandwidth has been enhanced to more than five times from 318 Mbps to 1.7 Gbps. With this upgradation, Agathi, Androth, Minicoy and Kavaratti will have 200 Mbps bandwidth each and Amini, Chetlat, Kalpeni, Kadmath, Kiltan and Bitra islands will each have 100 Mbps bandwidth. BSNL is honoured to contribute to this bandwidth augmentation for the people of Lakshadweep and is committed to executing the submarine cable project in a time-bound manner as well.
IFMC services
In October 2021, BSNL, as a strategic partner of Inmarsat, received an IFMC licence from the Department of Telecommunications to offer the latter’s Global Xpress (GX) mobile broadband services. Under this, GX will be available to Indian customers across the government, aviation and maritime sectors. India’s airlines will be able to deploy GX for in-flight connectivity within India and throughout the world, while India’s commercial maritime companies will be able to enhance the digitalisation of their vessels for more effective ship operations and crew welfare services. Global Xpress is recognised as the world’s best high-speed satellite communications service for government and mobility business customers and we are very pleased to make these capabilities available to users in India. We appreciate the commitment to excellence shown by the government. Equally, we thank our partner Inmarsat for its spirit of collaboration in reaching today’s milestone to help power economic development in India through higher quality connectivity.
4G roadmap
We are planning to upgrade over 90,000 sites around India with 4G, using homegrown technology. Out of the total 90,000 sites, 50,000 would be 4G enabled as a part of the Phase I deployment. The remaining 40,000 sites will be covered under Phase II.
We are working in tandem with the government’s broad objectives to promote Indian technology in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat ambition. However, since homegrown technology has not been deployed anywhere earlier, this could be a business risk. BSNL is trying to overcome the challenges associated with 4G and is going ahead with homegrown technology after the completion of the proof of concept (PoC) in Chandigarh. Once 4G services come in, BSNL will be in a better position in the telecom market. Things are moving in the right direction. We hope that the equipment would be made available soon after the culmination of the network testing exercise. We are looking to place an initial order for 4G equipment for 50,000 sites following the successful outcome of the PoC. We can launch 4G within the next financial year following the PoC, as spectrum is not a challenge.
