State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is facing a significant customer exodus as persistent network failures and call drops continue to affect users.

According to reports from Kollam, more than one lakh customers have ported out of the network over the past three months, switching to other telecom providers due to ongoing service disruptions. The issue has also raised concerns among several state government departments that rely on BSNL connections for official communication.

The state Women and Child Development Department has warned that it may discontinue around 30,000 mobile connections if the network issues are not resolved soon. The department had earlier initiated a plan to port out 25,703 numbers but temporarily froze the decision following discussions with the telecom operator.

Officials from the department have reportedly stated that if the technical problems are not resolved before March 31, they will proceed with abandoning the connections.

Apart from this department, another government department with more than 50,000 BSNL connections and a public sector undertaking have also indicated that they may discontinue services if the situation does not improve.

BSNL officials have attributed the network problems to technical shortcomings in the newly deployed indigenous 4G technology. The system, implemented in October as part of India’s domestic telecom technology push, has reportedly encountered several operational challenges.

The indigenous 4G network technology was developed by Tata Consultancy Services in collaboration with other technology partners. However, users have reported multiple issues including calls failing to connect, incorrect messages indicating that a number is switched off or busy, and calls disconnecting shortly after being connected.

Customers have also complained that they often need to dial several times before a call connects successfully, making even short conversations difficult.

The continuing network instability has raised concerns among both individual subscribers and institutional users.