BSNL, the public sector telecommunications company, is poised to launch 4G services nationwide from August this year, utilizing entirely indigenous technology. This announcement comes from official sources on Monday. BSNL officials have reported achieving impressive speeds of 40-45 megabits per second (Mbps) on the 4G network. During the pilot phase, the 4G services were introduced in the 2,100 MHz band, alongside the premium 700 MHz spectrum band. Notably, the technology was developed domestically by a consortium led by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the telecom research organization C-DOT. Already, approximately eight lakh customers have been onboarded in Punjab.
An anonymous senior official mentioned, “The 4G core, developed by C-DOT, has exhibited excellent performance in BSNL’s Punjab network since its establishment in July last year. Although typically, it takes 12 months to validate such complex technology, the C-DOT core has achieved stability within 10 months.”
The same official, speaking to PTI, disclosed, “BSNL is set to roll out indigenous 4G technology nationwide by August.” The core network, comprising telecom service-related network hardware, equipment, and software, has been developed by TCS, Tejas Networks, and the government-owned ITI, with contracts totaling about Rs 19,000 crore. This network has the potential to be upgraded to 5G in the future.
As part of the deployment process, towers are being installed across various regions. Arnab Roy, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tejas Networks, recently mentioned that BSNL’s mobile network deployment is progressing in multiple areas. Wherever the C-DOT core is not available, equipment is being integrated into the existing core.
BSNL is in the process of installing 1.12 lakh towers to support 4G and 5G services nationwide. Presently, over 9,000 towers have been erected for 4G services, with a significant portion located in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Western Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana circles. Regarding customer transition to 4G, a senior official from the government-owned company noted, “BSNL has been issuing only 4G-enabled SIMs for the past four to five years. Therefore, customers with older SIMs will need to acquire new SIMs to access the 4G services.”
