NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced plans for an additional ₹47,000 crore capital expenditure (capex) to boost Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's (BSNL) network infrastructure. The state-owned telecom company spent ₹25,000 crore last year to install 1 lakh towers for its 4G mobile services.
BSNL has already completed the installation of over 95,000 towers as part of that initiative.
"We have another close to ₹47,000 crore capex plan in place for BSNL. Meanwhile, BSNL has done its highest-ever capex of ₹25,000 crore during last year," the DoT said, quoting Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
A consortium led by IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) secured the majority of the ₹25,000 crore project for supplying telecom equipment to BSNL.
The company also reported a net profit of ₹280 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2025—marking its second consecutive quarterly profit. This turnaround comes after it posted a loss of ₹849 crore during the same period last year.
Scindia has directed the state-run telecom firm to expand its mobile services by 50% over the next year. During a review meeting held last month with BSNL’s circle and business unit heads, he urged each unit to increase its enterprise business by 25–30% and its fixed-line business by at least 15–20%.
The minister also emphasized the need to boost BSNL’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)—a key performance indicator in the telecom sector—by enhancing customer satisfaction and increasing subscriber numbers. BSNL’s ARPU currently varies across telecom circles, ranging from approximately ₹40 to over ₹175.
In comparison, Reliance Jio reported an ARPU of ₹208, while Bharti Airtel posted ₹250 for the June quarter.