BSNL to Roll Out Indigenous 4G Service Nationwide from August
BSNL to Launch 4G Services Nationwide
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the public sector telecom company, is set to launch 4G services across the country from August this year. An official was briefed about this information on Monday (May 6) by the news agency PTI. According to the agency, this service will be completely based on indigenous technology. This indigenous technology has been developed jointly by IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Telecommunication Research Organization C-Dot (C-Dot). Utilizing this, BSNL has already initiated 4G services in Punjab and has onboarded nearly 800,000 customers.
As per PTI, BSNL officials have claimed a maximum speed of 40-45 megabits per second on the 4G network, which was launched amidst a fierce competition for 700 MHz and 2,100 MHz premium spectrum bands.
BSNL to Roll Out 4G Services by July
The 4G technology developed by C-DOT has been performing exceptionally well in BSNL’s network in Punjab. It was deployed earlier this year in July. “It takes 12 months to prove the success of such complex technology, but C-DOT has managed to stabilize the core in just 10 months,” according to reports.
Upgrading to 5G
The core network is a cluster incorporating hardware, equipment, and software relevant to telecom services. This cluster aids fundamental services in telecom networks such as integration, call control, switching, authentication, charging, gateway functionality, and more.
TCS, Tejas Networks, and the government-owned ITI have collectively secured orders worth around Rs. 19,000 crores from BSNL to establish 4G networks. This network can subsequently be upgraded to 5G.
BSNL is in the process of installing 1.12 lakh towers across India for its 4G and 5G services. The company has already set up over 9,000 towers nationwide for 4G services, with over 6,000 towers in circles such as Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Western Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.
An official revealed, “BSNL has been selling only 4G-enabled SIM cards for the past 4-5 years. In such a scenario, customers will have to replace their old SIM cards to experience 4G services and obtain new SIM cards.”
BSNL is lagging behind Airtel and Jio. PM Modi has launched the roadmap for 6G networks. The aim is to start 6G services in India by 2030. BSNL is behind in this matter. The company is also preparing to start 5G services along with 4G. In January 2023, the Union Minister for IT and Telecommunications, Ashwini Vaishnaw, had stated that BSNL would start its 5G services by April 2024. Meanwhile, Airtel and Jio had already launched 5G services in India in October 2022.
At one time, BSNL was the number one mobile operator in India. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated BSNL’s mobile services on October 19, 2002, in Lucknow. Within just 1-2 years of its inception, it became India’s leading mobile service provider. Private operators had started mobile services a few months before BSNL, but the demand for BSNL’s “CellOne” brand increased rapidly.
When BSNL launched its services, private operators charged Rs. 16 per minute for outgoing calls and Rs. 8 per minute for incoming calls. BSNL made incoming calls free and reduced the outgoing call rate to Rs. 1.20 per minute. The period from 2002 to 2005 was considered BSNL’s golden era. Everyone wanted a BSNL SIM, which led to long queues, sometimes stretching up to 3-7 kilometers.
Mobile Subscribers in India Surpass 1.16 Billion
According to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in February 2024, the number of mobile subscribers in India has increased significantly. In January 2024, there were 393,062,500 mobile subscribers across the country. By February 2024, this number had risen to 394,600,000, indicating a notable increase in just one month. This surge underscores the widespread adoption and reliance on mobile communication services throughout India.
