BSNL to expand 4G coverage, FTTH services in Dharwad-Davangere circle

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will expand its 4G network and strengthen broadband connectivity across rural and urban areas of the Dharwad Telecom Circle, Senior General Manager Dhananjaykumar Tripathi said on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference in Hubballi on Saturday, Mr. Tripathi said BSNL had installed around 65 new 4G saturation towers in the Hubballi Business Area (BA) during 2025-26. Another 422 base transceiver stations (BTS) had been installed under Phase 9.2 to improve data speed and network capacity.

“During 2026-27, BSNL plans to install 14 additional saturation sites and survey 47 villages for the 4G saturation project. Another 123 BTS units are planned, including 20 to improve coverage in underserved areas. The company has set a target of 40,000 new gross mobile connections during the year,” he said.

Special offers

Mr. Tripathi said BSNL was offering free all-India roaming to mobile subscribers. As part of its Independence Day promotions, new and mobile number portability (MNP) port-in customers can obtain SIM cards for ₹1 and ₹51 under separate schemes.

“The ₹1 scheme offers 1 GB of data a day, 100 SMS messages and unlimited voice calls for 24 days, while the ₹51 scheme provides 2 GB of daily data, 100 SMS messages and unlimited calls for 28 days. BSNL has also introduced monthly voice and data vouchers priced at ₹107, ₹147 and ₹153. An Independence Day offer on the ₹2,399 plan provides 412 days of validity, unlimited voice calls, 2 GB of data a day and 100 SMS messages,” he said.

FTTH expansion

Mr. Tripathi said BSNL had 20,844 working Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections at the end of 2025-26 and had added 5,543 gross connections during the year. All exchanges in the Hubballi BA had been migrated to Next Generation Network technology. For 2026-27, BSNL’s target is 14,000 new FTTH connections.

The company is offering free Wi-Fi modems/ONTs to rural and urban broadband customers with warranty support for two to two and a half years. Installation charges for new FTTH connections have also been waived until September 30, 2026.

Deputy General Managers Rajkumar Asangi and R.S. Kadam briefed on the initiatives taken to improve BSNL services, including setting up exclusive teams to immediately attend to technical issues. Mr. Asangi said that the toll-free number 1800-4444 and WhatsApp service would enable customers to book connections and register complaints. BSNL would also provide doorstep assistance for new landline and broadband connections.