Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has partnered with the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) and the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to conduct 4G trials. The state-run telco is testing 4G with homegrown equipment, and if successful, it will be able to roll out the 4G networks in the next ten months. But the delays don’t seem to stop. BSNL has not yet announced whether it was successful in conducting 4G trials or not. No announcement on the same came from other TCS or C-DoT. Thus it is safe to assume that the trials are still going on and haven’t been finished yet. BSNL was supposed to finish the 4G trials with TCS by October 31, 2021. But that got delayed further to December 31, 2021. With further delays, until Marc 4, 2022, the telco hasn’t been able to conduct successful 4G trials.
Will BSNL Make 4G Equipment Order in a Month?
Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier said that BSNL would make an order for 4G equipment by April 2022. April is only a month away now, and the 4G trials haven’t even been completed yet. Thus it might be quite difficult for the telco to do so since the trials are ongoing. BSNL and its partners have taken a lot of time, and it is hurting the state-run telco’s chances of making the most out of 4G services in India. The more delays there are the more loss for BSNL. If BSNL can provide the cheapest 4G plans in the country, it will definitely see a major subscriber market share gain. But without 4G networks in the scene, it doesn’t matter how cheap the state-run telco’s prepaid plans are. The Indian government has prohibited BSNL from partnering up with an international telecom gear vendor for 4G. BSNL can only go with homegrown 4G, even if it doesn’t want to, which is adding to the delays in the 4G rollout.
