Along with 4G, BSNL is confirmed to launch 5G NSA this Independence Day of India, i.e., on August 15, 2022. The state-run telecom operator will deploy 5G NSA (non-standalone) with 4G, said Rajkumar Upadhyay, Executive, C-DoT (Centre for Development of Telematics), at the Convergence India event. According to a PTI report, Upadhyay further said that the consortium has developed the technology at a cost of USD $30 million, which is a fraction of the billions of dollars that the global telecom companies have incurred to develop it.
PM Modi Wants BSNL to Deploy 4G Services by August 15
P K Purwar, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), BSNL said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the state-run telecom operator to deploy 4G services by August 15. It is worth noting that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also wants the private telcos to launch 5G networks this Independence Day. The standing committee on Communications and Information Technology had recommended that BSNL should be given 5G spectrum at par with the private telecom operators. What is going to happen will be clear in a few months time. BSNL has already finished the 4G trials with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with C-DoT as a technology partner. Upadhyay said that the 4G core they have developed is completely virtualised. The state-run telco is right now in a mix of several major events. The government wants to merge BSNL with BBNL (Bharat Broadband Network Limited) and there are also talks about the merger of BSNL with MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited). What’s really going to happen is not clear at the moment. The BSNL employee union is not happy with the merger talks with MTNL. According to the union, if the merger takes place, it will be bad for the company’s financial situation, which is already not good.
BSNL to Place Order for 4G Gear
Going by the words of IT and Telecom Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, BSNL is supposed to place the order for 4G gear in April 2022. The trials are already completed and all now that the telco has to do is start placing orders for the gear and then upgrading the network. BSNL’s 4G networks going live by August 15, 2022, is good news for the consumers of the country who will now have one more option to go to for consuming 4G network services. Right now, the consumers only had the option of going with the private telecom operators including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea.
