BSNL Will Improve Quality of Services Instead of Raising Tariffs: CMD Robert Ravi

Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) does not have plans to hike tariffs in the near future, the state-owned telecom operator's Chairman and Managing Director reportedly announced on Tuesday. Alongside the launch of its new logo and seven new services, the official highlighted that BSNL will focus on improving its quality of services to retain the new consumers it gained following the price hike rolled out in India by telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.

BSNL Has No Plans to Hike Tariffs 

BSNL gained 2.9 million subscribers in India in July, following a price hike by its private sector rivals in India, taking its market share to eight percent. Lower tariffs were attributed as a major reason behind the shift of Indian consumers from telecom operators like Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi) to BSNL.

The state-owned operator is looking to retain these recently gained subscribers and its efforts will include improvement of its quality of services, according to a Financial Express report that says the operator will not increase tariffs in the near future.

While launching the new logo, Robert Ravi, Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL said, “We can clearly say we are not going to increase our tariffs in the near future. Today, BSNL's prime interest is to see that its consumers are happy and to win their confidence. We don't see any need for tariff hikes now.”

The telecom operator is also looking to expand its user base in India. It aims to have a 25 percent market share in the country by 2025, as per the official. The recently launched services, such as spam protection, Wi-Fi roaming service for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) consumers, Any Time SIM (ATM) kiosks, and a fibre-based intranet TV service are expected to be the driving factors behind the company's anticipated growth.

Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia emphasised that the state-owned telecom operator will “always” be at the forefront of innovation as a leader. The minister highlighted BSNL's rise in subscriber count since the commencement of its 4G rollout, from 7.5 million to 18 million in March 2024. By mid-2025, BSNL will have one lakh 4G sites in India, while some of them will also be migrated for 5G.