Cabinet gives nod to hive off BSNL’s tower assets into separate company

The approval allows will enable BSNL to monetize its telecom tower infrastructure with the formation of a separate subsidiary company .

The Cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval for hiving off the mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL.

A woman speaks on her mobile phone in front of the logo of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) painted on a wall outside its office in Kolkata on August 24.(REUTERS)

“We will complete the hiving off process in two years. Out of total telecom towers in the country, around 15 per cent is with BSNL,” Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said while briefing the media on this Cabinet decision.

He also said the tenancy ratio of BSNL will improve with this hiving off decision.

There are around 4,42,000 mobile towers in the country out of which more than 66,000 mobile towers are of BSNL.

“This approval authorizes BSNL to monetize its telecom tower infrastructure with the formation of a separate subsidiary company,” an official statement said here.

“An independent, dedicated tower company of BSNL with a focused approach will lead to increasing of external tenancies and consequentially higher revenue for the new company,” the statement added.