Cost-effective tariff, free 5G, service quality to drive BSNL 4G customers: Pemmasani
Once BSNL's 4G current deployment is stabilised, the Cabinet approval for the fresh 1 lakh sites will be sought, and the state-run telco is mulling offering free 5G wireless access, and cost-effective tariffs to woo subscribers. In an exclusive interaction with ETTelecom's Muntazir Abbas, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications, talks on BSNL 4G network, BharatNet 3 program, Vodafone Idea's health, India's 6G readiness, and telecom carriers' anti-spam initiatives. Edited excerpts.
You recently talked about BSNL, which is expected to add an additional 1 lakh 4G sites. By when is this likely to happen including the Cabinet nod?
Firstly, we must perfect 1 lakh sites for which the order has been given. Once we get confidence that the technology is working the way we wanted, and competing with the global standards, and the subscriber base is increasing, then we will ask the Cabinet through our
prime
minister. That is our internal ministerial plan, but obviously, still a few more months to go for that.
Will this be an open bid, or continued with homegrown partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)?
This has not even been finalised, and it has not been approved by the Cabinet. Once approved, it will follow the standard bidding process.
What expectations do you have from the BSNL once 4G is commercially available nationally?
I think there are certain things that are highly favourable to BSNL. People have a lot of trust when it comes to security, and it being the lifeline or backbone during the disaster preparedness and at border areas and rural villages, it has earned that kind of trust and loyalty among the people. Once BSNL provides competitive 4G services, people will flock into it. In addition, the price can be competitive, and these days, people use a couple of SIMs. In my view, the concept of 'indigenous' appeared to be favourable. We can provide quality customer service and quality service, bundling different services with broadband. We are also thinking about coming up with free 5G wireless access. Some innovative approaches are being brought into the BSNL. So, with all of these, I am hoping these will increase BSNL's customer base.
Share an update on the BharatNet 3 project. By when is it likely to be completed?
This is such a huge project. We have done it in an extensively transparent process. Whoever has been allotted, would start working right away. We want to finish it within the next 2 years as much as possible.
Is the ministry working on some sort of relief package for the telecom industry?
The current health of the telecom sector is quite good. We are not even discussing anything at this point of time. The only issue is Vodafone Idea which we have already done quite a bit. ₹36,000 crores converting debt into equity itself is a large thing that we have done. But no more equity conversion. I mean we do not have any plan to convert dues into additional equity currently
Don't you think it's high time for the government, being a majority stakeholder in Vodafone Idea, to take steps to get it out of the woods?
Exactly. That is the reason we have converted debt into equity. The government cannot solve all the problems they have or are experiencing. So, this is not something we can do in a day. This requires the Prime Minister-headed Cabinet's nod. Multiple people must have to be involved. They (VIL) keep on approaching us, and it will continuously be examined.
Did Vodafone Idea approach again for some relief?
Every time, they will be putting a proposal. They come up with alternatives, too. We never shut the doors for anybody. There are always Cabinet ministers available.
What will be your piece of advice to Vodafone Idea?
They are in the public markets. They have to manage their own business. They are smart people and run multiple businesses. They know how to operate.
For the last several years, Industry bodies have been demanding a cut in the Universal Service Obligation Fund or Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) levy making it effectively zero?
There is no immediate need. The telecom sector is quite profitable. Telcos are expanding into 5G. We do not have any additional plans to give any incentives at this point of time.
The 4G Saturation program is relatively slow in terms of implementation?
No, it is not. One must understand, these are the places that even private players felt impossible to deploy towers. We are talking about forest areas, hilly areas where you do not have road access. These are the leftover places. So, execution itself is very difficult. We deployed close to 14,000 towers out of the 27,000. So, 50% has been completed already, and another 50% of the work is being fast-tracked as well.
You have funded some institutions as part of the next generation (6G) technology innovation strategy. How is it contributing to technology development?
We have given funding to around 111 institutions. They did file quite a few patents. We are continuously reviewing those projects. But we are confident we will be able to get at least 5 to 10% of the 6G patents by India. Once you have these patents, they will be inserted into the standards.
The department has formed multiple forums for 6G development like you had in 5G?
TCS is working on 6G actively. Our goal is to give as much funding as possible to all the people who are interested, especially the startups. The innovation is coming from IITs as they have a more structured process.
How are you facilitating Make in India or Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the telecom sector?
Earlier, or until 10-11 years back, the situation was different. So, because of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, and the government's efforts, especially from the Prime Minister, we were able to bring in large manufacturers. We have got the ecosystem in the beginning, and now we have become the second largest phone exporter. Now, the goal is how to create indigenous components. If you look at our entire 4G and 5G, the government is mandating BSNL to develop indigenous technology and deploy. For a country as big as India, doing multiple things all in 10 years, I think what we have achieved is a remarkable success. Now you look at all the semiconductors and fab sectors, we have started to manufacture locally.
Is the government considering any sort of direction to private telecom service providers to use indigenous technology, going forward?
In general, mandating private enterprises is probably not the best thing. What we can do is incentivise them and empower them. So, if indigenous 4G works well and 5G is updated, obviously not only people in India, but other countries will also start buying.
How are you ensuring the industry reduces spam and spoofing calls and messages?
We are ensuring the security aspects of the telecom are being monitored, for the prevention of spam and fraud calls, and to eventually prevent financial frauds. We have taken that also very seriously and are reviewing it as a part of the security aspect.
What is the frequency of reviewing anti-spam initiatives of telecom operators?
I review monthly with our digital intelligence people. We are integrating Sancharsathi and developing it into multiple languages. Through Sancharsathi, we disconnected more than 4 crore illegal connections. We have also made a lot of changes and strict guidelines for the point-of-sale agents. So, like that, if you look at it, Airtel, you know, one year back, you were not getting spam call warnings.
So, are you satisfied with the progress so far?
Yes, I am quite satisfied with the progress.
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