BSNL reports improved financial performance and major 4G/5G initiatives Amid Data Breach Concerns

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has reported an annual increase in its Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) to Rs 2,164 crore for FY24.

Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar stated in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that, as a result of government packages and measures, BSNL and MTNL began earning operating profits from FY 2020-21.

In line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, BSNL has placed a purchase order for 1 lakh 4G sites for the deployment of indigenous 4G technology, which is upgradable to 5G, Sekhar added.

According to the details of the last five years’ performance of BSNL shared by the Minister, EBITDA stood at Rs 2,164 crore in FY24, 38.8% more than the previous year. The loss narrowed to Rs 5,371 crore in FY24, down from Rs 8,161 crore in FY23.

In response to another question on data breaches in BSNL, the Minister mentioned that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reported a possible intrusion and data breach at BSNL on May 20, 2024.

“The incident was analyzed and it was found that one File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server contained data similar to the sample data shared by CERT-In. No breach into the Home Location Register (HLR) of the telecom network was reported by the equipment manufacturer, hence no service outage in BSNL’s network,” he said.

As a preventive measure, BSNL has changed access passwords to all similar FTP servers. The Minister also mentioned that the government has taken various steps for the revival of BSNL and MTNL. In 2019, the first revival package amounting to around Rs 69,000 crore reduced the operating costs of BSNL and MTNL.