Yesterday I did a FAQ for Satellite Internet. Today, I thought of doing a similar one for BSNL’s revival package of Rs 89 K Cr (PIB release dated 7th June). The purpose of this FAQ is to answer some key questions as to whether this revival package will result in empowering BSNL to compete in the market efficiently and effectively.
Q1. What is the key objective of this revival package?
Ans — To empower BSNL with the capability of launching 4G and 5G services.
Q2. Which band will BSNL use to 4G?
Ans — Primary band has to be 700 MHz, and the secondary band can be 2500 MHz.
Q3. Why not use the existing 900 MHz or the 1800 MHz for 4G?
Ans — These are already occupied with BSNL’s legacy GSM services, and therefore not available, and BSNL hardly has any 1800 MHz spectrum.
Q4. Does it make any sense for BSNL to deploy 4G in the 700 MHz band?
Ans — No, as 4G handsets in this band are not readily available, as none of the existing 4G operators in India have launched 4G services in this band. Also, there are very few players outside India who have deployed 4G services in the 700 MHz band.
Q5. Why 700 MHz band is not an optimal band for deploying 4G services?
Ans — As this band has become a popular band for 5G services worldwide.
Q6. What happens if BSNL if deploys 4G services in the 700 MHz band?
Ans — There will be few takers, as the cost of 4G devices in the 700 MHz will be high (compared to the 800 & 900 MHz bands), and especially when BSNL’s customer base is at the bottom of the pyramid. Also, all investments will go down the drain (all 4G BTSs have to be uprooted/or converted to 5G), if BSNL decides to launch 5G services in the 700 MHz band a few years later.
Q7. Why would BSNL need the 700 MHz band for 5G, when it has a lot of spectrum in the 3.5, and 26 GHz bands?
Ans — As BSNL can neither deploy an optimal standalone (SA) nor non-standalone (NSA) 5G if it continues to keep the 4G services working at the 700 MHz.
Q8. But why not?
Ans — The 5G NSA deployment scenario for BSNL is — 4G at 700 as underlay, and 5G at 3.5 & 26 GHz as overlay. But this plan is totally out of sync with Bharti’s NSA plan which is 4G at 900/1800 as underlay and 5G at 3.5 MHz & 26 GHz as overlay (the NSA network combines both the 4G and 5G layers and offers them as an integrated service). BSNL’s unique network strategy will not allow it to leverage optimally the devices which are seeded in the market to support Bharti’s NSA networks. This will significantly increase the ownership cost of handsets for BSNL’s customers.
Q9. But what if BSNL later deploys a 5G SA network, by totally uprooting its 4G network in the 700 MHz band?
Ans — BSNL has to run both 4G and 5G networks simultaneously at 700 MHz (at least in the interim) to allow the legacy 4G customers to migrate to its new NSA network. And with just a 2x10 MHz spectrum in the 700, it won’t be possible to execute. The only way BSNL can execute this is by switching off its 4G network in the 700 MHz band abruptly and asking all its customers to migrate to its new 5G SA network. This can have an impact on the ownership cost of devices for consumers, which might lead to a loss of market share. Also, by doing so BSNL will become a pure-play 5G operator with no 4G network in the sub-GHz band.
Q10. What will be the impact on BSNL’s 4G customers if they lose their access to the 700 MHz band?
Ans — For them, 4G will become totally useless, as they will not be able to make voice calls. For the voice calls to work seamlessly, it needs to work on the lowest frequency band for enabling ubiquitous coverage (indoors, in the lift, etc). 4G at 2500 MHz does not penetrate indoors, and therefore 4G voice calls will become patchy and unreliable (they will have no choice but to fall back to the 2G GSM layer for this purpose).
Q11. So in that case what is the optimal plan to deploy 4G for BSNL?
Ans — Deploy 4G in the 800 MHz and leverage the device economies of scale already created by RJIO. A lot of spectrum is available in the 800 MHz in most of the circle and is lying free and unused. In the last auction (CY 2022), the 800 MHz had no takers (5 to 10 MHz in available in 800 in 18 of 22 circles). So if BSNL uses the 800 MHz spectrum that is lying waste then it can compete effectively in the market and all the investments put in by the government will become productive immediately.
Q12. What is the optimal plan for deploying 5G for BSNL?
Ans — BSNL should start 5G SA services in the 700 MHz immediately, just like RJIO has done. This band, along with 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz can become a compelling offer for the BSNL’s customers. Devices will not be a problem as the network will totally resonate with RJIO’s plan. This will bring a lot of value to India and its consumers.
Hope you will find this useful. In case of any further queries, you can reach me on Twitter @Parag_Kar. Thanks for reading.
(Note — No conflict of interest as no one funded for writing this FAQ)
