BSNL receives government order to prioritise customer satisfaction for subscriber, business growth

Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday urged state-run telecom firm BSNL to significantly expand its customer base and grow its mobile service business by 50 percent in the next year. During a review meeting with all BSNL circle and business unit heads, the minister also directed each unit to increase its enterprise business by 25-30 percent and its fixed-line business by a minimum of 15-20 percent.

"I'm giving you some targets. Your enterprise business must grow by a range of 25-30 percent per SBU (strategic business unit). There's no reason why your CM (consumer mobility) business should not grow by 50 percent. This is for next year. Even if you grow your ARPU by 50 percent, you'll already be there," the minister stated.

After the meeting, Scindia informed reporters that he aims for BSNL to increase its Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)—a key metric for telecom growth—by enhancing customer satisfaction and acquiring more subscribers.

"On average, we will look at lifting those ARPUs... ARPUs will come through customer satisfaction, better CRM (customer relationship management). That is what we are focused on. It has to be a twinning of two aims: one, ensuring that customer satisfaction improves. You increase your customer base, and if your customer satisfaction improves, your ARPU will also improve," the minister explained.

He noted that BSNL's ARPU varies significantly across circles, ranging from around Rs 40 in some regions to upwards of Rs 175 in others. In comparison, Reliance Jio reported an ARPU of Rs 208 in the June quarter, while Airtel's last reported ARPU was Rs 245.

BSNL's financial performance and future outlook

Scindia highlighted that BSNL has a capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 25,000 crore, marking the largest in its history. "It is important to look at the operating margin and the operating cash flows. Last year, we delivered almost a 2.5x increase in operating margins—from Rs 2,395 crore to almost Rs 5,100 crore. On a quarterly basis, we will post healthy operating cash flows, and that is our target," the minister affirmed.

Remarkably, BSNL has posted a net profit for two consecutive quarters after an 18-year hiatus. The state-run firm reported a profit of Rs 280 crore in the March quarter of FY25, a significant turnaround from a loss of Rs 849 crore in the same period last year. The company had also recorded a profit after tax of Rs 262 crore in the October-December period of the previous fiscal year.