In India's two-horse telecom race, a laggard picks up pace
BSNL) is gathering pace in India's telecom sector dominated by two large players, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, while the third, Vodafone Idea, is dragged back by debt and losses. The state-owned telco is wooing subscribers to claw back market share, launching a slew of new offerings and initiatives, ranging from spam blockers to automated SIM kiosks and direct-to-device services.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s ambitious project to revive BSNL is finally gaining momentum for the first time in two years. BSNL has gained subscribers and outperformed private giants Jio, Airtel and Voda Idea, shows data. This growth is largely due to BSNL’s decision not to raise tariffs in the latest quarter, and the central government injecting a lofty amount of Rs 3.22 lakh crore over the years into the company as well as into MTNL.
«BSNL will be at the forefront and not a follower in the days to come,» Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said recently. This optimism comes when, after a long wait, BSNL recorded growth for three months straight, from July to September.
For the last three months for which TRAI data is available, BSNL added nearly 3 million subscribers in July, 2.5 million in August and 849,493 in September.
BSNL’s revival: From 4G to tariffs
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