Lok Sabha Question No. 830 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-02-07
Subject: Performance of BSNL and MTNL
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: RAMCHARAN BOHARA, Kunhalikutty, P.K.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 830 TO BE ANSWERED ON 7 TH  FEBRUARY, 2018

## PERFORMANCE OF BSNL AND MTNL

†830.   SHRI RAM CHARAN BOHRA: SHRI P.K. KUNHALIKUTTY:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  market  share  of  public  sector  telecommunication  enterprises  i.e.  Bharat  Sanchar Nigam  Limited  (BSNL)  and  Mahanagar  Telephone  Nigam  Limited  (MTNL)  in  comparison  to private sector telecom companies;
- (b) the reasons for the decline, if any, in the number of subscribers of the said public sector telecom companies;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to improve the market share and profitability of these public sector enterprises;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  in  this regard;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to merge both public enterprises as a part of their revival and reorganization plan and if so, the details and the present status thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f) whether  the  said  telecom  companies  have  surrendered  their  CDMA  spectrum  and received refunded amount and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) The  market  share  of  Bharat  Sanchar  Nigam  Limited  (BSNL)  and  Mahanagar Telephone  Nigam  Limited  (MTNL)  in  terms  of  number  of  wireline  and  wireless subscribers for last three years and current year is as follows:

## BSNL:

| Status as on   | Total Telephone Connections in the country (in Million)   | Total Telephone Connections in the country (in Million)   | Total Telephone Connections in the country (in Million)   | Telephone Connections Provided by BSNL (in Million)   | Telephone Connections Provided by BSNL (in Million)   | Telephone Connections Provided by BSNL (in Million)   | Telephone Market Share of BSNL (%)   | Telephone Market Share of BSNL (%)   | Telephone Market Share of BSNL (%)   |
|----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
|                | Wired Line                                                | Wireless                                                  | Grand Total                                               | Wired Line                                            | Wire- less                                            | Grand Total                                           | Wired Line                           | Wireless including WLL               | Grand Total                          |
| 31.03.14       | 28.49                                                     | 904.55                                                    | 933.04                                                    | 18.49                                                 | 94.65                                                 | 113.14                                                | 64.90                                | 10.46                                | 12.13                                |
| 31.03.15       | 26.56                                                     | 969.54                                                    | 996.1                                                     | 16.41                                                 | 76.83                                                 | 93.24                                                 | 61.80                                | 7.92                                 | 9.36                                 |
| 31.03.16       | 25.18                                                     | 1034.20                                                   | 1059.38                                                   | 14.76                                                 | 86.82                                                 | 101.58                                                | 58.63                                | 8.40                                 | 9.43                                 |
| 31.03.17       | 24.38                                                     | 1170.68                                                   | 1195.06                                                   | 13.69                                                 | 101.40                                                | 115.09                                                | 56.15                                | 8.66                                 | 9.63                                 |
| 31.10.17       | 23.51                                                     | 1178.67                                                   | 1202.18                                                   | 12.67                                                 | 106.80                                                | 119.47                                                | 53.91                                | 9.06                                 | 9.94                                 |

Contd…….2/-

## MTNL:

| Status as on   | Total Telephone Connections in Delhi and Mumbai licensed area (in Million)   | Total Telephone Connections in Delhi and Mumbai licensed area (in Million)   | Total Telephone Connections in Delhi and Mumbai licensed area (in Million)   | Telephone Connections Provided by MTNL (in Million)   | Telephone Connections Provided by MTNL (in Million)   | Telephone Connections Provided by MTNL (in Million)   | Telephone Market Share* of MTNL (%)   | Telephone Market Share* of MTNL (%)   | Telephone Market Share* of MTNL (%)   |
|----------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|                | Wired Line                                                                   | Wireless                                                                     | Grand Total                                                                  | Wired Line                                            | Wire- less                                            | Grand Total                                           | Wired Line                            | Wireless including WLL                | Grand Total                           |
| 31.03.14       | 6.16                                                                         | 73.42                                                                        | 79.58                                                                        | 3.53                                                  | 3.37                                                  | 6.9                                                   | 57.33                                 | 4.59                                  | 8.67                                  |
| 31.03.15       | 6.13                                                                         | 76.81                                                                        | 82.94                                                                        | 3.55                                                  | 3.51                                                  | 7.06                                                  | 57.24                                 | 4.57                                  | 8.51                                  |
| 31.03.16       | 6.20                                                                         | 79.11                                                                        | 85.31                                                                        | 3.50                                                  | 3.56                                                  | 7.06                                                  | 56.44                                 | 4.50                                  | 8.29                                  |
| 31.03.17       | 6.26                                                                         | 90.07                                                                        | 96.33                                                                        | 3.46                                                  | 3.63                                                  | 7.09                                                  | 55.27                                 | 4.03                                  | 7.37                                  |
| 31.10.17       | 6.26                                                                         | 92.53                                                                        | 98.79                                                                        | 3.39                                                  | 3.59                                                  | 6.98                                                  | 54.18                                 | 3.88                                  | 7.05                                  |

* MTNL  operates  in  Delhi  and  Mumbai  area,  market  share  is  calculated  for  Delhi  and Mumbai area only.
- (b) The reasons for stagnation and/or falling  market share for wireline and wireless services are as under:

## Wireline : -

-  There  is  a  general  decline  in  demand  for  the  fixed  line  telephones  due  to subscriber's tendency to shift to mobile services because of its sheer convenience with regards to affordability and availability.
-  Closure due to non-payment of telephones bills/economic reasons.
-  Prolonged breakdown of services due to cable breakdown inflected due to road widening, cable thefts, cable faults etc.

## Wireless :-

-  Stiff  competition  in  Mobile  sector  by  other  private  telecom  operators  who  have aggressive tariff plans.
-  BSNL and MTNL could not procure mobile equipment for few years, but in the last  three  years      BSNL  and  MTNL  maintained/slightly  improved  their  market share  in  wireless  segment  due  to  their  aggressive  tariffs  plans  in  competitive market. BSNL is increasing its 2G / 3G coverage by addition of BTSs / Nodes.

(c) & (d) To improve the market share and profitability, BSNL and MTNL are taking various steps as detailed at Annexure-I. The details of Government support to BSNL and MTNL are at Annexure-II.

- (e) At present, there is no proposal for merger of BSNL and MTNL.
- (f) Amount of Rs.458.04 crore to MTNL and Rs.169.16 crore to BSNL on account of  surrender  of  Code  Division  Multiple  Access  (CDMA)  spectrum  has  been refunded by the Government.

## Steps taken by BSNL to increase its customer base:

1. Augmentation of GSM Mobile network capacity-

Phase VIII: Formulation of next GSM expansion project:

a. Phase VIII.1 : Induction and integration of Wi-Fi Hotspot / LTE (4G) with existing    GSM /UMTS network.

- b. Phase VIII.2: Strengthening of Data Network:
2. (i) Media has observed to support the surge in data volume.
3. (ii) IPs have been used judiciously to address scarcity.
- c. Phase  VIII.3 :  Intra  Circle  Roaming  has  been  launched  for  M/s  Aircel  as  a  seeker  in Rajasthan Telecom Circle and in UP(E) circles. Testing is also under process in other Circles of BSNL. The Inter Circle Roaming with M/s Vodafone in Delhi for 'BSNL as a seeker' is working fine to provide roaming options to BSNL's Pre-paid Customers. Inter Circle  Roaming  has  also  been  launched  with  M/s  Vodafone  in  MP  &  CG  Circles  for Vodafone as a seeker.
- d. Phase VIII.4 Focus on enhancing 2G & 3G GSM coverage.

GSM expansion project under name Phase VIII.4 has been finalised for the following:

- Replacement of old equipment having high operational cost & AMC.
- Addition of 3G capacity for increasing 3G footprints.
- Introduction of 4G services.
- The project is presently envisaged to provide about 20881 2G BTSs, 22517, 3G Node Bs and 10000 4G E-Node Bs.
2. Replacement  of  legacy  Wireline  exchanges  by  Next  Generation  Network  (NGN) Switches:-
- Phase I: Total capacity of 1 million line equipment has been commissioned in Phase -I class-5  IP  Multimedia  Subsystem  (IMS)  based  New  Generation  Network  (NGN).  The implementation of phase-II. 3 Million (core& access) equipment is in progress.
- With migration to Next Generation Network (NGN) system, the customer will get better communication  Enhanced  Value  Added  Services  like  Personalized  Ring  Back  Tone, Multi Media Video Conferencing and IP Centrex etc.
3. Augmentation of Broadband  network  for meeting data growth: -BSNL  has commissioned  Multiprotocol  Label  Switching  -  Transport  Profile  (MPLS-TP)  based  Next Generation Packet Aggregation Network (MNG-PAN).
4. Setup  of  Network  Monitoring  system  (NMS)  for  Wire-line,  Wireless  and  Broadband network :    Purchase  Order  (PO)  for  the  procurement  and  implementation  of  Broadband Network Management System covering BB P2.2, Multiplay and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Networks has been placed. The equipment is in advanced stage of commissioning.
5.  Roll-out  of  Wi-Fi  Service :   BSNL  is  deploying  35000  Wi-Fi  Access  Points  under  Wi-Fi Hotspots  and  Mobile  Data  Offload  Project.  Till  date  3406  Wi-Fi  Hotspots  have  been installed.  BSNL  is  also  rolling  out  Public  Wi-Fi  Hotspots  at  25,000  Rural  Telephone Exchanges of BSNL. Further, as on 30.11.2017, BSNL has installed 7819 Wi-Fi Hotspots across 3330 locations in the country through revenue share model.

Contd……4/-

## 6 . BSNL-ECR CONE (Enhanced Capacity & resilience of Core Network ):

-  Expansion of Provider Edge (PE) Network of BSNL: Out of planned 232 PE Routers, BSNL  has  commissioned  232  PE  Routers  along  with  their  integration  with  Core Routers. This has resulted in the expansion of IPMPLS Network from 106 cities to 205 cities  providing  connectivity  for  broadband,  NGN,  2G/  3G  requirements  apart  from increased connectivity to enterprise customer.
-  In  respect  of  creation  of  a  Super  Express  Highway  across  the  country  and  Super Express  Transport  Network  with  200  Gbps  (Gigabits  per  second)  line  capacity connecting 47 state Capitals and important cities. The work in 45 cities have already been completed under Phase-I and Phase-II. Installation and commissioning of Optical Transport  Network  (OTN)  equipment  has  been  completed  in  two  cities  Silliguri  and Guwahati.    But  Acceptance  Testing  is  in  progress.  Material  for  Phase-III  has  been supplied. Installation and commissioning is in progress.
-  For procurement of Converged Packet Access Network (CPAN), Purchase Order (PO) to L1 and L2 vendors has been issued. Supply in respect of B1 & B2 switch has been completed and A1 and A2 switch is in progress.

## 7. Customer Centric Initiatives:

-  BSNL has focused on customer care services by installing exclusive call  centres for GSM services, Wire- line and Broadband services.
-  Unlimited free night calling from landline to any network between 2230 Hrs to 0600 Hrs in India by BSNL to its landline customers.
-  BSNL introduced unlimited free calling during day & night on all Sundays on PAN India (except HP Circle).
-  Minimum 512 Kbps broadband speed upgraded to 2 Mbps.
-  The new plan Experience LL 49 which also allows free calling facility during night hours from Monday to Saturday of the week and 24 hours free calling on Sunday. The scheme has  been  extended  in  all  circles  (except  J&K,  NE-I  &  NE-II  )  &  is  applicable  up  to 31.03.2018.
-  BSNL has introduced waive off installation charges scheme for New Landline which is applicable up to 17.07.2018.
-  BSNL has introduced new LL Plan LL-299 with Fixed Monthly Charges (FMC) Rs.299. In this tariff plan 250 free calls are allowed to any network within India. The tariff plan is applicable w.e.f. 01.08.2017.
-  BSNL has revised the existing landline plans w.e.f.01.08.2017 & now customer will get free calls on BSNL Network equal to FMC.
-  BSNL has introduced new annual landline tariff plans 'LL 1200 & LL 1500' which also allows free calling facility during night hours from Monday to Saturday of the week and 24 hours free calling on Sunday. The tariff plans are applicable w.e.f. 01.12.2017 up to 28.02.2018.
-  BSNL  has  introduced  Virtual  landline  Connection  under  plan  'ÄSEEM'  in  which customer can get a Virtual Landline number and get diverted all the calls received on that number to a mobile number of his/her choice. This plan can also be provided in Technically Not Feasible (TNF) areas. The tariff plan is applicable w.e.f. 01.09.2017.
-  BSNL has introduced Replacement of Instrument Free of cost for existing customers, who has paid last  six  months  bill  for  Landline/Combo  connection  with  total  amount  of Rs.3600/- or above and having Landline for last three years.

Contd……5/-

-  BSNL Landline may be booked through Facebook/Twitter. One month Fixed Monthly Charge on landline booked through Facebook/Twitter is being waived off. The scheme is applicable for one year w.e.f. 30.10.2017.
-  Rs 249 unlimited Broadband plan (upto 2 Mbps till 1 GB & up to 1 Mbps beyond).
-  Introduction  of  a  scheme  to  waive  off  Installation  charges  for  new  Landline/Digital Subscriber  Line/Fiber  to  the  Home  connections  (voice/  Broadband/combo)  in  all  the Circles, for a period of One Year-w.e.f. 18-07-2017.
-  Introduction of a scheme for sale of Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) WiFi Modem @ Rs. 1500/- with 100% Cash back @ Rs. 50/- per month for maximum 30 month or till the Broadband connection remain active to the Broadband customers who subscribe  under  any  Broadband  plan  with  Fixed  Monthly  Charge  (FMC)  Rs.675/-  & above.
-  Introduction  of  new  Broadband  plan  'BBG  Combo UL 599' with 'Flat  2 Mbps Speed' and reformulation of certain pan-India DSL Broadband plans, which are currently being offered to the customers in pan-India basis - w.e.f. 10-07-2017.
-  Tariff  Plan  for  2Mbps  FTTH/ILL  Backhaul  @  Rs.  17820/-  for  Wi-Fi  Hotspots  under Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) in all the circles-w.e.f.20-07-2017.
-  Reformulation  of  Broadband  plans;  offering  'Upto  10  Mbps'  &  Upto  8  Mbps'  initial download speed (subject to technical feasibility) across all the DSL/FTTH Broadband plans  [pan-India  (except  A&N  circle)]  with  FMC  ≥  Rs.  675/-  &  FMC  <  Rs.675 respectively, on pan-India basis-w.e.f. 01-11-2017.
-  BSNL has introduced unlimited local / STD BSNL to BSNL with 300 Mb data for only Rs.99  with  validity  of  28  days  for  its  prepaid  mobile  customers  in  Kolkata  Telecom District,  West  Bengal,  Bihar,  Jharkhand,  Assam,  Gujarat,  MP,  Chhattisgarh,  and Maharashtra & Rajasthan. In other circles, it varies from Rs.119 to Rs. 149.
-  BSNL has introduced Special Tariff Voucher (STV) of Rs 339 for 28 days with unlimited Local/STD BSNL to BSNL + Local /STD BSNL to others + Unlimited data (With FUP (Fair  Usage  Policy)  of  2GB  /day  with  no  speed  restriction  and  thereafter  with  speed restriction of 80 KBPS).
-  BSNL has introduced new STV plan 'BSNL CHAUKKA'   '444' Unlimited data (Speed reduced to 80 Kbps after 4GB/day) offer under prepaid mobile service.
-  BSNL has introduced  new plan 'BSNL SIXER' '666'  Unlimited data (Speed reduced to 80 Kbps after 2GB/day) & Unlimited  free voice (Local/STD)  for 60 days any net in Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) under prepaid mobile service.
-  BSNL has introduced the new plan of Rs.429 only which is giving free voice ( Local /STD) on any network and 90 GB data @ 1GB per day) for 81 days  on pan-India basis ( except Kerala Circle).

## Measures taken by MTNL to increase its customer base:

MTNL has taken following steps to improve its network capabilities, provide better quality of service to its customers and improve market share.

-  Expansion of GSM / 3G Radio Frequency (RF) network in MTNL Delhi: MTNL is in the process of expansion of 3G mobile network by adding 1080 nos. of 3G sites, 800 nos. of hybrid microwave to meet the backhaul capacity and data handling capacity to 10 Gbps.
-  Upgradation / replacement of 3G RF network in MTNL Delhi: MTNL is upgrading the existing 3G network (720 Node-Bs) and 754 nos. of existing 8Mbps Microwave Hops to 400 Mbps capacity to improve network capabilities and provide better speed.

Contd…….6/-

-  3G  Network  Up-gradation  in  Mumbai: MTNL  is  upgrading  the  existing  3G  network (720 Node-Bs) and 497 nos. of existing 8Mbps Microwave Hops to 400 Mbps capacity to improve network capabilities and provide better speed.
-  Redeployment  of  DSLAMs  (Digital  Subscriber  Line  Asynchronous  Mode)  of existing Broadband Network: MTNL has launched a special program to progressively increase  the  fibre  length  by  redeploying  the  broadband  nodes  (DSLAMS)  near  to  the subscriber premises in Delhi and Mumbai thereby reducing copper length and enhancing the quality of broadband service. 186 DSLAMs in Delhi and approx.169 in Mumbai have been  redeployed thereby reducing copper length and enhancing the quality of Broadband service. This has improved customer experience and reduced the number of complaints.
-  Fibre to the Home (FTTH): FTTH revenue share policy was modified to make it more flexible to attract new partners with enhanced revenue share to encourage partners to rollout more connections; 10 Partners each in Delhi and Mumbai have already started operations. Active monitoring is being done to ensure to achieve the envisaged targets of  the  policy.  Regular  advisories  are  being  issued  to  field  units.  In  the  calendar  year 2017, total  699  connections  have  been  provisioned  in  Mumbai  while  188  connections were provisioned in Delhi.
-  Steps taken to further improve quality and Quantity of services:
-  Tariff  of  Wireless  services  has  been  rationalized  significantly  in  view  of  the  cut throat competition. MTNL now offers three times more data at the same price.
-  To give boost to customer experience, download speed of broadband subscribers is being upgraded to 8 Mbps progressively without any additional cost depending upon  feasibility  and  line  parameters.  This  year,  24,332  connections  have  been upgraded as on 31.12.2017 in Delhi while 3,86,882 numbers have been upgraded in Mumbai.
-  Tariff re-balancing of  Broadband service has been done for giving more competitive and attractive tariff package to the customers.
-  Training  is  being  given  to  line  staff  to  improve  maintenance  and  installation practices.
-  Refurbishing of 20% pillars and DPs every year, is planned in a phased manner. 1236  Pillar  and  7199  DP  have  been  refurbished  by  MTNL  this  year  as  on 31.12.2017
-  To improve copper pair quality, 81,492 existing drop wires have been replaced with twisted drop wires or thermo sleeves have been put at open joints at DPs by MTNL this year, as on 31.12.2017.
-  Proactive Monitoring of Broadband Faults through radius attempt.

Contd…..7/-

## Government support to BSNL and MTNL

A. BSNL:

-  Implementation  of  providing  mobile  connectivity  in  2199  identified  locations  in  Left  Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas at an estimated cost of Rs. 3567.58 crores on 4.6.2013.
-  Implementation  of  Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Plan  for  Andaman  &  Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands through augmentation of satellite connectivity/ bandwidth at an estimated cost of Rs. 120.49 crores on 7.11.2014.
-  Optical Fibre Cable based Network for Defence Services (NFS Project) has been given to BSNL on nomination basis at the cost of Rs.13,334 crore.
-  Laying  of  2,54,813  Km.  OFC  to  connect  1,01,792  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  under BharatNet project out of which, 91,001 GPs are connected with OFC with the laying of 2,20,510 Kms of OFC, also the trenching & duct laying is completed for 97,845 GPs.  For execution of BharatNet project, Government has provided Rs.5744 crore in Phase-I and Rs.6500 crore in Phase-II to BSNL.
-  Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region for provision of mobile services in uncovered villages in Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam at estimated  project  cost  of  Rs.  1975.38  crore  and  implementation  of  Transmission-Media Plan for North Eastern Region at an estimated cost of Rs.295.97 crore on 10.9.2014.
-  Submarine  Optical  Fiber  Cable  Project  at  the  cost  of  Rs.1900  crore  has  been  given  to BSNL on nomination basis for providing connectivity to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
-  Work of setting up of 25000 Wi-Fi Hotspots at Rural Telephone Exchanges has been given to BSNL on nomination basis at the cost of Rs.940 crore.
-  The work of setting up of Satellite Gateway at the cost of Rs.54 crore has been given to BSNL on nomination basis.

B. MTNL:

-  Refund of surrendered BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) spectrum in two service areas held by MTNL and in 6 service areas held by BSNL.  Under this head, Rs. 4533.97 crore has been refunded to MTNL through bonds and Rs. 6724.51 crore has been refunded to BSNL through budgetary resources.
-  The pension liability of MTNL staff who were absorbed from DoT, has been taken over by the Government.
-  Notional loan of Rs. 1411 crore to BSNL which was due to be paid to the Government was waived-off.
-  Financial  support  of    Rs.  492.26  crore  has  been  given  to  MTNL  on  account  of  liability arising from levy of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT).
-  Refund of Rs. 458.04 crore to MTNL and Rs. 169.16 crore to BSNL on account of surrender of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) spectrum.
-  Provision of High Speed Internet on FTTH and Wi-Fi at the Hon'ble M.Ps residences. The Project cost of about Rs 43.2 Crore was funded by DoT.

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