Approval for hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL

cabinet approves hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL

Question: Number of mobile towers installed by BSNL in the country, approximately are–
(a) 82,000
(b) 82,000
(c) 66,000
(d) 66,000
Answer: (d) 
Related Facts:

  • On September 12th, 2017, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL.
  • This approval authorizes BSNL to monetize its telecom tower infrastructure with the formation of a separate subsidiary company.
  • There are around 4,42,000 mobile towers in the country out of which more than 66,000 mobile tower are of BSNL.
  • 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.

Reference:
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=170700
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintHindiRelease.aspx?relid=67054