BSNL 4G PoC Might Complete Today, Date for Equipment Order Revealed

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is expected to complete the Proof of Concept (PoC) for 4G with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today, i.e., on January 31, 2022. It should have been completed within 2021, but due to TCS not honouring the Expression of Interest (EoI) terms and conditions, delays happened.

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The state-run telco is on track to complete the PoC on time and also launch commercial 4G networks by September 2022, said Devusinh Chauhan, reports ET Telecom.

As per the publication’s report, Chauhan confirmed that BSNL is likely to place an order for 4G equipment in April 2022.

BSNL Needs Money from the Government to Help With Speedy 4G Rollout

BSNL doesn’t have the kind of money required to meet the capex expectations for rolling out, maintaining, and operating 4G networks throughout India. Thus, the state-run telco had sought another relief package from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

BSNL is looking to upgrade 90,000 sites in the country in two phases. The first phase will include 50,000 sites in the urban and semi-urban areas of India. For the same, BSNL had asked for Rs 37,005 crore from the centre, out of which the telco is going to use Rs 17,500 crore for capex and the remaining 19,605 crore for meeting debt liabilities until FY24.

Due to the lack of 4G networks, BSNL has been losing subscriber market share for years now. Competitors such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea have been providing 4G services for almost six years PAN-India.