BSNL to focus on data, partner private firms to revive growth

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, which lacked the financial wherewithal to participate in the recently concluded spectrum auctions, is confident about the next round, as it goes about putting its house in order.

“We missed the voice bus and, therefore, we could not progress, made losses… We lost those six years (between 2006 and 2012), but now we want to make sure that our network is strong enough to retain customers,” said Anupam Shrivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL.

‘Voice’ is a thing of past, and so BSNL has formulated its revival strategy with ‘data’ as the prime focus.

But BSNL does not have enough spectrum for 4G (fourth generation), expected to be the next big thing in wireless data services.

“We do not have 4G, but we have huge landline and optical fibre assets. We have decided to use these assets through Wi-Fi for digital penetration in the country,” Shrivastava told BusinessLine .

“If we take the Wi-Fi route — providing hotspots for data connectivity — then not only are we increasing Internet/broadband penetration, we are also making revenue,” he said. For this, it is adopting two business models — revenue-sharing with private participation, and going solo.

“We are inviting private players to come and install hotspots, maintain them for five years, handle sales and marketing. BSNL will provide the optical fibre connectivity and bandwidth,” he said.

BSNL has around 200 hotspots already installed and proposes to close the year with 2,500 Wi-Fi hotspots in 250 locations. “We are also integrating these hotspots with our mobile network — so they virtually act as 4G hotspots,” he added.

The PSU is looking at ₹800-1,000 crore this year from 2,500 hotspots. In the next three years, BSNL proposes to invest ₹6,000 crore for 40,000 hotspots.

BSNL has also decided to work with private players to share mobile networks. “Today no private operator’s network is as good as it is supposed to be, so it’s a good idea if three-four mobile operators share their network with us, just like they do among themselves. For intra-circle roaming, we have approached Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Reliance Communications to come together. We are testing and finalising the terms,” he said.

BSNL is also giving its landline telephony a facelift. “We are investing in a next-generation network, which will have rich features, such as syncing the landline with mobile phones,” he said. The company is also carving out its tower business into a separate arm.

The bigger challenge is staff strength. “We have about 2.25 lakh people, whose average age is 53-54 years. I spend about 56 per cent of my topline, around ₹15,500 crore, on these staff, which is more than the topline of RCom.”

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