The government today said telecom operator BSNL has suffered a net loss of Rs 1,822.65 crore during the financial year 2009-10 on account of reduction in revenue and increased expenditure.

"Reduction in BSNL revenue is mainly because of decline in revenue from wirelines and fall in ARPU (Average Revenue Per User). Revenue (from wireless connections) decreased due to reduced tariff offered in a competitive market," Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

He added that increased staff cost has added to the losses of the company.

Pilot said apart from various marketing activities and network upgradation, BSNL has also undertaken studies to understand the reasons for mass surrender of connections.

BSNL's gross revenue declined to Rs 33,547 crore for the year ended March 31, 2010 as against Rs 33,983 crore for the previous fiscal, he added.

Replying to another query, Pilot said BSNL's total market share (GSM and WLL) has reduced from 15.64 per cent in March 2008 to 11.44 per cent in June 2010.

Another state-run telco, MTNL, saw its market share declining to 15 per cent in June this year from 19.73 per cent in March 2008 for the Mumbai circle.

For the Delhi operations, MTNL's share decreased from 14.1 per cent in March 2008 to 12.47 per cent in June 2010.