BSNL employees oppose Centre’s move to put company’s mobile towers on sale

State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) employees have opposed the Centre’s move to put telco’s mobile towers on sale, saying that the move is contrary to the Cabinet-approved rescue plan it initiated in 2019.

“We are opposing this move (monetisation) strongly. The sole beneficiaries will be private corporations only,” P Abhimanyu, general secretary, BSNL Employee Union told ETTelecom, adding that it would prove to be a big roadblock to telco’s fourth generation (4G) commercial launch as envisaged in the revival package.

The government plans to sell as many as 14,917 BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) towers. Currently, BSNL maintains the MTNL network in Delhi and Mumbai, and has nearly 68,000 tower locations.