BSNL Gets New Mobile Subscribers, Reliance Jio Mantains Its First Position

The number of subscribers of government telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has increased. BSNL has received around 48,177 new subscribers in March. The first place of Reliance Jio in the telecom market remains intact. However, Vodafone Idea has suffered a major loss in terms of number of subscribers.

According to the data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reliance Jio has received around 21.74 lakh new subscribers in March. The total number of subscribers of the company has increased to around 49.97 crores. The second largest telecom company Bharti Airtel has added about 12.50 lakh new subscribers in March. The total number of Airtel subscribers was about 38.98 crores at the end of March.

However, the difficulty for Vodafone Idea (VI) has increased. VI has lost about 5.41 lakh subscribers in March. Its total subscribers have come down to about 20.53 crores. Government telecom company BSNL has added about 49,177 new subscribers in March. BSNL had a total of about 9.10 crore subscribers at the end of March. In February, the company suffered a loss of over 5.60 lakh subscribers. The 4G network of BSNL may soon be launched across the country. Recently, Tata Group’s company Tejas Networks has completed the supply of telecom equipment for one lakh 4G sites to BSNL. This order was worth Rs 7,492 crore.

The BSNL aims to launch 4G service in June. After this, the company will upgrade 4G sites and launch 5G network. The company has used indigenous technology for 4G network. Recently, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had reported that BSNL’s 4G network will be upgraded to 5G from June. India has joined five such countries in the world that have developed their 4G technology. The government aims to expand this expertise up to 5G. Earlier, the company was allowed to fund Rs 6,000 crore for expansion of 4G network to the central government. This fund will also be used for the company’s 4G network of subsidiary metropolitan telephone corporations (MTNL).