Chief General Manager, NE II Circle, N Murali briefing during press conference of BSNL NE II Telecom Circle at the BSNL Conference Hall, Super market, Dimapur on September 26. (DIPR Photo)
Dimapur, September 29 (MExN): Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced a significant expansion of its 4G network under the 4G Saturation Project in the North East-II Telecom Circle, connecting 783 villages across Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur. The update was shared during a press conference held at the BSNL Conference Hall, Super Market, Dimapur on September 26.
Delivering the welcome address, Omega R Marak, Principal General Manager (HR&ADMN&CM&SM), said that in its Silver Jubilee year BSNL has “taken a giant leap forward by rolling out pan-India 4G services on an indigenous 4G/5G-ready core and integration, reaffirming the Government of India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision for strategic telecom.”
In a media briefing, N Murali, Chief General Manager, NE-II Circle, said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi “today commissioned over 97,500 mobile 4G towers, built at a cost of Rs37,000 crore with swadeshi technology, from Jharusguda, Odisha. Out of these, more than 92,600 4G technology sites have been commissioned by BSNL.” He added that “over 18,900 sites under the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) will connect 26,700 unconnected villages in remote, border, and left-wing extremism-affected areas, providing services to more than 2 million new subscribers. Many of these towers are solar-powered, making this initiative India’s largest cluster of green telecom sites.”
Murali stated that BSNL’s 4G Saturation Project “aims to bridge the rural-urban digital divide, extending reliable connectivity to underserved villages, including challenging high-altitude and low-revenue regions.” He described the project as an international breakthrough that places India “among only five nations capable of building and deploying a complete mobile network stack.”
Under the project, the BSNL NE-II Circle, covering Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur, has 1,969 sites planned for installation of indigenous 4G. Of these, 1,238 sites fall under the 4G Saturation Project, while 731 sites are earmarked for upgrading existing 2G/3G towers. So far, 243 sites in Arunachal Pradesh covering 503 villages, 36 sites in Manipur covering 50 villages, and 190 sites in Nagaland covering 230 villages have been put on-air.
Murali also reported that BSNL’s financial performance in the NE-II Circle has shown steady growth, with revenues rising by 5.5% year-on-year to Rs171 crore in FY 2025-26 compared to Rs162 crore in FY 2024-25. “The EBITDA turnaround of Rs30.67 crore reflects strong margins, supported by cost discipline, 4G expansion, asset monetisation, and stronger enterprise and FTTH services,” he stated. He underscored that “BSNL is not only turning around after years of challenges but also emerging stronger as India’s own telecom giant.”
A presentation on the progress was delivered by Dilip Siram, Principal General Manager (CFA&EB), while the vote of thanks was given by Mukesh Meena, General Manager (BN).
