State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is once again under the spotlight—but this time, it’s not for its long-awaited revival. Instead, thousands of BSNL’s new 4G towers have been found transmitting far below their intended power levels, causing poor coverage, call drops, and sluggish data speeds. As India pushes for homegrown telecom infrastructure, this setback reveals the immense challenges of modernising a legacy network at scale.

The Silent Weakness in BSNL’s 4G Rollout

While BSNL has been adding subscribers on the back of freshly launched 4G services, internal evaluations tell a more complex story. A recent letter from BSNL to its vendors—Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tejas Networks—highlights a worrying discovery: more than 132,000 cells across newly deployed towers were transmitting below 35 dBm, a fraction of the intended 46 dBm.

To put that into perspective, telecom analyst Parag Kar explains that 35 dBm is just about 8% of the designed output, a massive gap that inevitably disrupts both network capacity and coverage.

For users, the visible symptoms are familiar: choppy calls, patchy signals, and painfully slow data speeds—issues also reflected in multiple TRAI drive tests where BSNL consistently lagged behind private rivals Jio and Airtel.

Vendors Respond—But Questions Remain

In their official response, TCS and Tejas attempted to downplay the impact, insisting that:

• Most issues have been fixed.
• Core network KPIs remain stable.
• Coverage and throughput remain unaffected for the vast majority of the 94,000+ operational sites.

They attribute minor fluctuations in signal levels to normal network optimisation, adding that even if one port radiates below configured power, the other typically compensates.

However, BSNL’s field-level teams have repeatedly raised concerns. Surveys across circles show widespread hardware inconsistencies—faulty components, misconfigurations, and non-radiating ports—all forcing BSNL to demand urgent fixes, along with weekly progress reports from TCS and Tejas.

Why Transmission Power Matters

Every mobile tower is divided into multiple “cells,” each broadcasting radio signals in different directions. When transmit power falls:

• Coverage area shrinks
• Devices fail to latch onto the network
• Call drops shoot up
• Handover between towers becomes unreliable
• Data speeds plummet due to weak signal quality

This is especially critical for a telecom operator trying to regain user trust in a hyper-competitive market.

The Stakes: India’s Make-in-India Telecom Dream

BSNL’s 4G rollout is not just a business project—it is a flagship initiative of the Indian government’s push for indigenous telecom technology. Its network stack was built domestically by C-DOT and Tejas Networks, with TCS serving as system integrator.

The wider revival plan has been powered by:

• Three government packages totalling ₹3.2 trillion
• Approval for 100,000 4G towers worth ₹19,592 crore
• Total spending of nearly ₹25,000 crore in FY25 for 4G deployment

Any performance issue risks undermining this massive public investment and the political will driving it.

Subscribers Are Returning—But Financial Woes Persist

Despite the technical glitches, BSNL has seen a recent surge in mobile users. It added 1.8 million subscribers in July–September, a sharp rebound from the 0.6 million loss in the previous quarter.

Yet financially, the telco is still deep in the red:

• Net loss (Q2 FY25): ₹1,357 crore
• Rising depreciation, network costs, and finance charges
• Revenue up 6.6% year-on-year, driven by mobile services after the 4G debut

The company’s total subscriber base stands at 92.3 million, dwarfed by Jio’s 506 million and Airtel’s 364 million.

For the government, turning BSNL profitable is no longer optional. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently reiterated that quality of service is non-negotiable, urging BSNL’s circle heads to ensure even daily Ebitda doesn’t slip into negative territory.

Can BSNL Overcome Its Technical Turbulence?

The transmission power issue—whether fully resolved or not—highlights deeper challenges facing BSNL:

• Integrating new hardware across a massive national footprint
• Delivering performance on par with private telcos
• Maintaining uptime across tens of thousands of sites
• Retaining users in an era of data-heavy consumption

Still, the fact that BSNL is adding subscribers again shows that low tariffs and renewed government backing are bringing people back. The real test now lies in scaling up network quality to match user expectations.

Conclusion: A Critical Juncture for BSNL’s Revival

BSNL stands at a pivotal moment. Its success would validate India’s ambitions for indigenous telecom technology and reduce long-term reliance on foreign vendors. But the recent signal issues expose the fine balance between rapid infrastructure rollout and ensuring rock-solid performance.

If BSNL can fix the weak links quickly, strengthen its network, and live up to its 4G promise, the operator could finally turn a corner—after years of stagnation. Otherwise, the gap with private operators may continue widening, leaving India’s flagship telecom revival story unfinished.

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