BSNL employee union sends letter to IT minister seeking intervention

The employee union of state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has reportedly sent a letter to Communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to complain about the fall in subscriber base and seeking urgent intervention. BSNL continues to lose subscriber base following the holding up of next generation (4G) network deployment by a Tata group company. The State-controlled telecom service provider, earlier anticipated a 20% growth in revenues following the availability of its 4G services. 
 

BSNL's struggle is attributed to its inability to provide high-speed data services, with competitors having already rolled out 5G services nationwide. This leaves BSNL with 2G and 3G technologies while lagging behind in the deployment of 4G services. 

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, the exodus of BSNL customers has reached alarming proportions, with millions leaving the state-run telecom company every month. 

 In August 2023 alone, 22,20,654 customers departed, while the number increased to 23,26,751 in September 2023. The cumulative loss since 2022 stands at a staggering 77 lakh customers. In contrast, private players like Reliance Jio and Airtel have experienced significant gains during the same period. 

The union highlights the delay in the commissioning of BSNL's 4G equipment by TCS despite earlier announcements. As earlier reported, a statement from Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in May 2023, assured that BSNL's 4G would go live in the next two weeks and 5G by December. However, the reality is far from these projections, as TCS has not even completed field-level trials, raising concerns about the viability of the stated timeline.