BSNL May See Foreign Vendors Pitching in 5G Network: Report

Reported by Tanuja K March 6th, 2025 at 11:11 am

BSNL could include the foreign vendors as a part of its $2 billion network gear order for 5G. Vendors such as Nokia and Ericsson already have a majority of the market share in India after the government asked the Chinese vendors to be phased out of the networks.

Highlights

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a state-run telecom operator, is planning to roll out 5G in the near future after it completes the target of reaching 1 lakh 4G sites.
BSNL's 4G is completely homegrown, as mandated by the government.
The growth of BSNL was decelerated when the government said that it could only take the equipment from the Indian vendors.

bsnl may see foreign vendors pitching 5g

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a state-run telecom operator, is planning to roll out 5G in the near future after it completes the target of reaching 1 lakh 4G sites. BSNL's 4G is completely homegrown, as mandated by the government. However, with the 5G, it could be a slightly different scenario. The growth of BSNL was decelerated when the government said that it could only take the equipment from the Indian vendors. Since there wasn't any vendor with proven technology, there was a whole PoC (proof of concept) curve which allowed the private telcos to take a major lead. BSNL is now rolling out 4G when two of the three private telcos in India have almost completed their 5G rollout.

BSNL Could Award Network Gear Contracts for 5G to Foreign Vendors

That may not be the case with 5G. As per an ET Report, BSNL could include the foreign vendors as a part of its $2 billion network gear order for 5G. Vendors such as Nokia and Ericsson already have a majority of the market share in India after the government asked the Chinese vendors to be phased out of the networks.

Around 50% of the network gear order could be reserved for the foreign vendors, while the remaining 50% will be for the Indian vendors. BSNL will roll out 5G SA (standalone) nationwide. But there's also the question of what will happen to the 4G sites which can be upgraded to 5G NSA faster and at a lower cost.

This could very well make the Indian market even more lucrative for the European telecom gear vendors. The goverment is likely considering the foreign vendors for 5G to ensure that BSNL doesn't get too delayed yet again. Vodafone Idea (Vi), a prominent Indian telecom operator, is also just starting to roll out 5G for its customers.

So there's still space for the telcos to capture customers in the 5G market. Many users are yet to even upgrade to their first 5G phone. Once that happens, the telcos will have a whole new set of users to earn money from.