BSNL expands network to 216 mobile towers

Panaji: Telecommunications major, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has expanded its mobile network in Goa and now operates with a tally of 216 towers as on January 2018.
This was revealed in the Lok Sabha by Union minister of communications, Manoj Sinha to a question tabled by BJP leader and south Goa member of Parliament, Narendra Sawaikar.

“Of the total 66,857 BSNL towers, as on date, 585 towers are non-functional due to non-availability of equipment, land issues and non-availability of power supply from the state electricity board,” the statement in the Lok Sabha read. It further stated that BSNL will make these towers functional during the next financial year, based on “assessment of techno-commercial viability.” The statement, however, did not specify how many of the 216 towers in Goa were non-functional, if any.

To further improve and expand its network, BSNL has finalized phase 8.4 global system for mobile communication (GSM), which will see replacement of old equipment, but will have high operational costs and maintenance. Similarly, the 3G capacity will be increased and 4G services will also be intorduced.

“BSNL is also hiring towers from other infrastructure providers to ensure better services to its customers. As of January 2018, BSNL uses 17,562 such hired towers across the country,” the statement read.