(MENAFN- Live Mint) A nationwide rollout of its 4G services has come as a shot in the arm for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). The state-run telecom operator saw its average revenue per user (Arpu) rise 12% to ₹91 in July-September from ₹81 in the preceding quarter, communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday.

Arpu is a measure of a telecom company's earning per customer on an average over a specific period, such as a month. The nationwide 4G service rollout has led to higher revenues and a steady uptick in subscriber additions for BSNL.

“There has been a 12% improvement in Arpu. There are some circles that have done a tremendous job. Maharashtra, for example, is at ₹214 Arpu, Kerala has increased Arpu from Q1 by 30%, UP (Uttar Pradesh) West by 13%,” Scindia said at the quarterly review meeting with BSNL circle heads.

The minister also said certain circles such as Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Kolkata had sub- ₹60 Arpus, which needs to be raised.

BSNL severely lags its private peers. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio's Arpus were at ₹250 and ₹211.4, respectively, while Vodafone Idea's was at ₹165 at the of September.

Also Read | BSNL clocks over 20 million 4G users; plans enterprise push with private 5G

During the September quarter, BSNL's revenue was at ₹5,347 crore, the minister said.“...We have achieved a 93% revenue run rate vis-a-vis our target. So, we had set a target of ₹5,740 crore, we've achieved ₹5,347 crore. We are very close to a rather bold target that we had set for ourselves based on last year's jump in earnings," Scindia said.

The state-owned operator is yet to announce its financial statements for July-September.

After being in testing phase for a long time, the company formally launched its 4G services on India-made technology on 26 September, with over 92,000 towers. Of its total subscriber base of 91.7 million as of August end, the company serves more than 20 million 4G users across the country.

After reporting profits for two consecutive quarters for the first time in 18 years, BSNL was back in the red, with a net loss of ₹1,049 crore in the June quarter. It had posted a net profit of ₹280 crore in the March quarter and ₹262 crore in the December quarter.

“We may not be able to see that run rate of profitability going forward, as the company did a capex of ₹25,000 crore in FY25 and there will be a close to ₹2,500 crore non-cash hit to the bottomline due to depreciation,” Scindia had said at a media briefing last month. The minister added that analysts should look at BSNL's operating profit and Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) rather than net profit, going forward.

Also Read | BSNL slips back in the red after two straight profitable quarters

Data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) shows BSNL pipped Bharti Airtel to add subscribers for the two straight months-August and September. The total number of mobile subscribers for BSNL was at 92.3 million (as of September end), Scindia said.

At the meeting, Scindia laid out a seven-point roadmap for BSNL's management and circle heads. He asked all circle heads to focus on improving quality of services and reduction in costs and also perform a competitive analysis to understand their performance relative to rivals.

“Quality of service is non-negotiable,” Scindia said, adding that the company needs to measure the same on a daily basis and also ensure there is no negative Ebitda from any circle, even for a single day.

The minister said an increase in costs without a corresponding revenue growth is“not acceptable”.

BSNL has set a target to grow its overall revenue by 20% in FY26 to ₹27,500 crore. The company had posted a revenue of around ₹23,000 crore in FY25.

Since 2019, the government has brought in three revival packages worth a total of ₹3.2 trillion to prop up the performance of BSNL and its public sector peer Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.

Also Read | No plan to merge Vodafone Idea and BSNL: Scindia

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