As Trai’s tests flag weak signals, BSNL dials vendors TCS, Tejas for a fix

In reply MintIn response to ‘s questions, TCS and Tejas said that most such issues have been fixed and there is no impact on the company’s key performance indicators (KPIs).

The issue assumes prominence due to concerns over BSNL’s service quality flagged by users. Driving tests conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) over the last few months to check the network performance of telecom operators showed that the BSNL network was struggling with slower speeds and higher call drop rates in most regions compared to private operators like Jio and Airtel; these carriers provided significantly better speeds, lower call dropouts, and reliable connections.

“Reduced Tx (transmission) power levels cause a host of operational and customer-facing issues, including limited coverage, locking difficulties for user equipment, poor signal quality and interference, reduced data throughput and access, higher call drop and handover failure rates, etc.,” BSNL said in a letter to TCS and Tejas dated October 21.

In the letter, BSNL said analysis at various tower sites had revealed a worrying problem: “More than 132,000 cells are currently delivering power below 35 dBm (3.16 watts)”. The company wants the signal level from the towers to be set at 46 dBm (40 watts).

Cell is another word for the coverage area served by a single mobile tower. Each tower has multiple cells, each facing a different direction, so together they cover a full area. In electronics and telecommunications, watts indicate how strong a signal is when a device (such as a mobile tower or Wi-Fi router) transmits.

“Call quality KPIs, including drops, are within acceptable limits and at par with other networks. Network optimization to reduce call dropouts and improve coverage is an ongoing process for any mobile network and the same is true on the BSNL network,” the companies said in an emailed statement. he said, adding that the vast majority of the more than 94,000 operational sites have no coverage or throughput issues.

According to the statement, data consumption on BSNL network also exceeded 4 petabytes (4 million GB).

“If the network is designed for 46 dBm and many sites are only emitting around 35 dBm (others are not emitting at all), this means the system is in serious trouble. At 35 dBm, the site emits only 8% of the intended power, causing both coverage and capacity to collapse,” said independent telecommunications analyst Parag Kar.

There was no response to e-mailed queries to BSNL regarding the issue till press time.

BSNL’s native stack was developed by Tejas Networks and C-DOT, with TCS acting as the system integrator. As part of the stimulus package approved by the Union Cabinet in 2022, the government has approved 100,000 4G tower sites for BSNL at a cost of $100,000. ₹19,592 crore. BSNL was spent ₹25,000 crore in FY25 for installation of these towers for 4G services. Consortium led by TCS and C-DoT got the lion’s share ₹25,000 crore project to supply telecom equipment to BSNL.

“The inconsistency (in some 4G sites) has been continuously highlighted by TCS circles. The same leads to hardware failures, disconnections and sub-optimal network performance,” said a BSNL executive on condition of anonymity, adding that TCS and Tejas have been asked to reconfigure or replace all affected cells so that the operator can provide quality services.

The company asked the two vendors to provide weekly progress reports on the issue.

“Even when one port emits less than the configured power, almost no impact is observed on network KPIs as the other port operates normally and provides the required coverage,” TCS and Tejas said in the statement. he said, adding that the number of cells reported with lower power was much lower.

BSNL, which has been in the testing phase for a long time, launched 4G services with India-made technology on September 26 with over 92,000 towers. The company served more than 20 million 4G users across the country from its total subscriber base of 91.7 million as of the end of August.

The operator’s actions took place against the background of renewed efforts by the government to turn the situation around. Low tariffs and availability of 4G services are helping BSNL add subscribers in recent months. The company added 1.8 million users in the July-September quarter, compared to the 0.6 million it lost in the April-June quarter.

“Service quality is non-negotiable,” Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had told BSNL’s circle heads at a meeting last month. The minister said the company should measure its service quality on a daily basis and also ensure that there is no negative EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) from any quarter, even for a single day.

BSNL reports net loss for September quarter ₹1,357 crore, wider ₹1,048 crore in the previous quarter and ₹The company’s financial statements dated November 14 show that it lost Rs 1,241.7 crore in the same quarter last year. Higher losses are attributable to increases in depreciation and amortization expenses, network operating expenses and financing costs.

The company’s revenue from operations in this quarter increased by 2.8% respectively and 6.6% annually. ₹5,166.7 crore was largely driven by the increase in revenues from mobile phone services with the launch of 4G services.

BSNL had 92.3 million mobile subscribers as of September-end; Larger private sector rivals Reliance Jio had 506 million, Bharti Airtel had 364 million and Vodafone Idea had 196.7 million. Data from Trai also showed that BSNL outpaced Bharti Airtel in subscriber additions for two months (August and September). According to Trai data, the company added 1.8 million users in July-September compared to a loss of 0.6 million users in April-June.

The government has introduced three stimulus packages worth a total of 3 million lira since 2019. ₹3.2 trillion to support the performance of BSNL and its public sector rival Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.