Allotment of 4G/5G spectrum to BSNL approve by Union Cabinet

New Delhi: In a major move, as part of the revival strategy, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday approved the third revival package for BSNL at a total cost of Rs. 89,047 crores.

This includes allotment of 4G/5G spectrum to BSNL through equity infusion.
The authorized capital of BSNL will be increased from Rs. 1,50,000 crore to Rs 2,10,000 crore.

With this revitalization package, BSNL will emerge as a stable telecom service provider focused on providing connectivity to remote parts of India.
The details of spectrum are as follows:

Band

Spectrum allotted

Budgetary support

700 MHz

10 MHz paired in 22 LSAs

Rs 46,338.60 Cr

3300 MHz

70 MHz in 22 LSAs

Rs 26,184.20 Cr

26 GHz

800 MHz in 21 LSAs and 650 MHz in 1 LSA

Rs 6,564.93 Cr

2500 MHz

20 MHz in 6 LSAs and 10 MHz in 2 LSAs

Rs 9,428.20 Cr

Miscellaneous items

Rs 531.89 Cr

Total

Rs 89,047.82 Cr
With this spectrum allotment, BSNL will be able to:

Provide pan India 4G and 5G services.

Provide 4G coverage in rural and underserved villages under various connectivity projects. Provide Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services for high-speed Internet.
Provide services/spectrum for Captive Non-Public Network (CNPN).

BSNL/MTNL Maintenance:

The government had approved the first rehabilitation package for BSNL/MTNL in 2019.

Its amount was Rs. 69,000 crore and brought stability to BSNL/MTNL.
In 2022, the government approved a second rehabilitation package for BSNL/MTNL amounting to Rs. 1.64 lakh crore.

It provided financial support for capex, viable gap funding for rural landlines, financial support for balance sheet reduction, and settlement of AGR dues, merger of BBNL with BSNL etc. .
As a result of these two packages, BSNL has started earning operating profit from FY 2021-22. BSNL’s total debt has come down from Rs. 32,944 crore to Rs 22,289 crore

Following are the key financials of BSNL:
Financial year 2020-21

Financial year 2021-22

Financial year 2022-23

Income

18,595 crore

19,053 crore

20,699 crores

Operating profit

1,177 crores

944 crores

1,559 crore
BSNL has achieved strong growth in the domestic fiber segment. It is providing more than 1 lakh new connections every month. In May 2023, BSNL’s total number of domestic fiber subscribers is 30.88 lakh. Last year the total revenue from Home Fiber was Rs. 2,071 crore

Telecom technology is a strategic technology with a limited number of end-to-end technology providers in the world.
Under the Atmanirbhar Vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s own 4G/5G technology stack has been successfully developed.

Deployment has started. After a few months of field deployment, it will be rapidly rolled out across the BSNL network across the country.