During the ‘Driving India’s Techade: D2M for Bharat – 5G Broadcast Summit,’ Pravin Kumar Purvar, the chairman and managing director of state-owned BSNL, highlighted the substantial annual cost of maintaining telecom towers, estimating it to be around Rs 2-3 lakh crore. He emphasized the need for technological solutions to reduce these expenses. Purvar acknowledged that creating 7 lakh towers nationwide is practically unfeasible due to the associated costs. While establishing a tower itself may cost approximately Rs 30 lakh, the ongoing expenses, including electricity, fuel, security, maintenance, and land lease or rent payments, contribute to the significant annual maintenance cost.
He emphasized the importance of collaboration between D2M (direct-to-mobile) technology and telecom operators to effectively lower costs. The challenge lies in creating a cost-effective method to sustain revenue streams equivalent to operational costs for running the towers. Purvar pointed out that both telecom and D2M businesses depend on spectrum pricing and revenue streams, emphasizing the need for D2M technology to be price-sensitive or low-cost to ensure sustainable business models. Finding ways to reduce costs remains a critical challenge for the telecommunications industry.
