2024-08-06 03:25:21
The government telecom company has its own large mobile tower network. Although this mobile tower needs changes at the technology level, but do you know that private companies like Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea are offering great services using BSNL’s mobile towers. Also, they are continuously making profits. While BSNL itself was lagging behind in this matter, the question arises that when BSNL has its own mobile towers, then why does it not offer fast calling and internet service using those mobile towers?
Yes, the question is valid, however as you know that BSNL is a government telecom company. In such a situation, it takes more time for technology update, because government approval and funds were two big problems. In such a situation, in the last few years, BSNL was lagging behind due to technology update, due to which BSNL suffered huge losses and BSNL was completely dependent on the government’s financial package. However, now the speed of government approval and technology update has increased.
Mobile towers were given on rent to increase revenue
BSNL started renting mobile towers to reduce its losses, which has also benefited the company. BSNL’s loss in the financial year 2019-20 was Rs 15,500 crore, which has come down to Rs 3,371 crore in the financial year 2023-24. Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia himself gave this information to the Parliament. However, many other factors were also responsible for reducing BSNL’s losses. The minister told the Parliament that the company has started earning profit from the financial year 2020-21.
The minister said that as of March 31, 2024, BSNL had a total of 67,340 mobile towers. Out of this, BSNL has rented 12,502 towers to private telecom companies like Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea. If Scindia is to be believed, BSNL has received a rent of Rs 8,348.92 crore for mobile towers from the financial year 2010-11 to the financial year 2023-24.
To whom did BSNL give how many mobile towers on rent?
If we talk about mobile towers, then Jio has the most number of mobile towers today. If we believe the then Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in 2019, then till that time BSNL had given 2,761 mobile towers on rent to Airtel, 941 to Vodafone and 129 to Idea Cellular. Whereas 8307 mobile towers were given on rent to Jio.
Who has how many mobile towers
According to Reliance Jio’s website, Jio has a total of 5.32 lakh 4G LTE network base stations, which cover about 95 percent of the country’s population. ET’s report has written, citing the report of the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), that as of August 30, 2023, the number of BSNL mobile towers in the country was 68,049, which are spread across 26 circles. According to Airtel’s website, there are 42,053 telecom mobile towers across the country, which are spread across 22 circles of the country. According to the report of June 30, 2017, Vodafone alone had 10,235 mobile towers in India.
Number of 4G mobile towers
4G mobile network is being developed by BSNL. So far, about 12 thousand 4G mobile towers have been installed across the country. The government has set a target of installing 4G towers across the country by the end of 2024. The government plans to upgrade BSNL’s 4G network to a 5G mobile network. This means that there will be no additional cost of installing mobile towers.
BSNL 4G launch date revealed! 5G will also be launched soon
Government’s 4G plan for BSNL
If the government is to be believed, 4G network is being rolled out under PM Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat, which will be made available across the country in the next 6 or 12 months. If the report is to be believed, 80 thousand BSNL towers will be installed by October this year. Also, the target is to install the remaining 21 thousand BSNL 4G mobile towers by March 2025. In this way, there will be one lakh mobile towers by March 2025.