BSNL, which ended December with close to 92 million users, is yet to start 4G services and is steadily losing subscribers to rivals such as Jio and Airtel that have almost completed their 5G rollouts.
Experts feel that 2G technology is likely to remain mainstream in India at least for the next two-three years as a good number of people still use it, particularly those who can t afford a smartphone. As per industry data, around 50 million 2G phones are sold in a year while there are over 500,000 2G base tower stations in the country, majority owned by Bharti Airtel, followed by Vodafone Idea and state-run BSNL/MTNL.
The BharatNet phase-3 project has a three-tier structure – internet leased line bandwidth which will be provided by BSNL at 7,269 blocks; middle-mile connectivity where private players will operate and maintain the project for 10 years; and the last-mile connectivity through the Udyami model.