The Finance Ministry’s refusal to reimburse state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) the money (Rs 18,500 crore) it paid for 3G and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum should not surprise many, considering BSNL has a vast pool of assets — towers, cables and land — that it can deleverage not only to pay for spectrum, but also make itself attractive for potential investors, whenever it is ready for disinvestment.
According to an internal assessment by an official in the finance wing of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), BSNL could generate over Rs 5,000 crore from interconnect charges by leasing its base transceiver stations (BTS, or towers), and optic fibre cables. If it were to go the joint venture way, it would fetch over Rs 35,000 crore from BTS. BSNL currently has over 50,000 towers all over the country. “More than 30 per cent of the company’s mobile network capacity is lying unutilised,” says a senior director in BSNL.
If BSNL hives off its tower business, it could generate over Rs 50,000 crore, going by the current valuation attracted by Reliance Infratel. If BSNL’s real estate were to be leased, the rent alone could fetch over Rs 10,000 crore. An outright sale of land is ruled out, says the DoT official, but by current estimates it could fetch over Rs 60,000-70,000 crore.
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Curious_Case_Of_Underutilisation-BSNL has huge assets.
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