Tech Telecom

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited,BSNL has reported a net loss of 1,484cr for the second quarter of fiscal year 24. For this period, a net loss is almost identical to the previous quarter. The state owned telecommunications company had net losses of 1,488Rs, during the first quarter. However, net losses are actually lower on a YoY basis and that’s an encouraging sign for BSNL. The net loss was 2,056 billion in Q2 FY23 for BSNL.

BSNL reported a cumulative loss of 2 972 billion Indian rupees for the first 6 months of fiscal year 24 compared with a net loss of 3,542 billion in the corresponding period last year.

14 out of 32 circles where the telecom PSU provides its services reported a fall in revenue in the September quarter, as well as, in the fiscal half year, the business daily reported citing sources.

Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, parts of North East, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar and Chhattisgarh have been identified as these 14 lossmaking circles.

The highest proportion of revenue came from cellular, leased lines and FTTH Fiber to the Home services during the quarter. Mobile phone services, of course, have been the biggest revenue generator. In Q2 FY24 BSNL saw a decrease in costs associated with employee benefits. From Q2 FY23 to Q2 FY24, the cost of employee benefits fell from 2,108 crores to 1,882 crores.

Over the past few years, BSNL has acquired a number of revitalisation packages. The first took place in 2019, followed by two more in 2022 and 2023. The government shifted its focus to deleveraging BSNL’s balance sheet in the last revival package. In addition, BSNL has been allocated spectrum in the 5G band that will enable it to use this PAN India spectrum for promoting services whenever they are launched by BSNL. In addition, the 5G technology stack that BSNL deploys for domestic 4G may also be transformed to 5G.