Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-run telecom operator, is now very close to launching 4G services using homegrown technology in India. There were reports suggesting that BSNL had run into an issue with the procurement of equipment from TCS (Tata Consultancy Services). Now, things finally might be rolling. According to an ET Telecom report, TCS may soon get a $2 billion deal from BSNL for the 4G equipment. BSNL will be looking to upgrade over 1 lakh sites across India to 4G.
The Indian government had asked BSNL to only use homegrown technology further for launching 4G. TCS rose to the occasion and provided PoC (proof of concept) for its 4G gear. BSNL will now use the gear provided by TCS for the 4G rollout. Tejas Networks, a Tata Sons unit which also owns TCS, is going to manufacture the 4G equipment for BSNL locally.
TCS got a lot of help from the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) in the development of 4G gear. C-DoT is a government-owned telecom technology provider which helped TCS in developing 4G radio as well as solutions to provide to BSNL.
This will be a great stepping stone for India. TCS would be the first company in the country to be manufacturing 4G gear using homegrown technology. BSNL would only utilise homegrown technology for rolling out 4G across India.
The report from the publication suggests that BSNL would be ready to launch 4G early in 2023 with the help of TCS and C-DoT. India would finally become a country that's not only importing telecom technology but is also manufacturing it, just like the US, Finland, South Korea and more. C-DoT is also working on developing 5G technology and is going to showcase the power of its 5G in the upcoming India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 at Pragati Maidan.
