The growing number of BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) customers in recent months reflects rising confidence in the state-owned telecom service provider, communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday.
Scindia, speaking about the Department of Telecommunications' achievements over the past year, highlighted that while BSNL has made notable progress, significant work still lies ahead. This includes implementing robust customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, improving customer satisfaction scores, and transitioning from 4G to 5G. However, Scindia declined to provide a timeline for BSNL’s 5G rollout.
“We still have a long road ahead. We need to implement strong CRM solutions, improve customer satisfaction scores, and transition from 4G to 5G. But the move to 5G will only happen once our 4G network is fully optimized, which will still take a couple of months,” said Scindia.
BSNL has recently posted its first back-to-back quarterly net profits in 18 years — Rs. 262 crore in Q2 FY25 (July–September) and Rs. 280 crore in Q3 FY25 (October–December). In August 2025, it added 1.3 million new mobile subscribers, marking its highest monthly growth in over a year. Previously, its last significant net addition was in March 2025, with 50,000 new users.
“We had 8.5 crore subscribers in June 2024. Today, that number stands at 9.1 crore. In the past month alone, BSNL added 13 lakh new subscribers. Clearly, there is growing confidence in the brand. I don’t want to add complexity before perfecting what we already have. But let me assure you — the transition to 5G is coming soon. And when we’re ready to launch, we will inform you.”
In addition to BSNL's progress, the minister also announced that India Post will launch guaranteed mail and parcel delivery services with fixed timelines of 24 and 48 hours starting January. Currently, such deliveries typically take between 3 to 5 days.
“We are launching new products that will guarantee delivery of mail and parcels. There will be a 24-hour Speed Post service for next-day delivery, and a 48-hour service for two-day delivery,” Scindia said.
India Post is also in talks with major e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart to become their preferred logistics partner — not only for last-mile delivery but also for mid-mile parcel movement, especially in remote areas where private players face challenges.
Meanwhile, the department is preparing to launch the Digital Address Code (DAC) — now branded as DIGIPIN — a unique 10-character alphanumeric code assigned to every address in India. Referred to by the minister as a “digital dress code for India,” DIGIPIN aims to offer precise geo-tagged identification for each address.
Unlike the traditional PIN code system introduced in 1972, which broadly covers areas, DIGIPIN is designed to reflect exact geospatial coordinates. This upgrade is expected to improve address accuracy, enhance logistics, support emergency response systems, and boost e-commerce deliveries across the country.
