Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is looking to launch 5G by Sankranti in 2025. This has been confirmed by L Sreenu, Principal General Manager of BSNL Andhra Pradesh. According to a report by The Hindu, speaking at a press conference, Sreenu confirmed that BSNL is upgrading towers and other equipment to get things rolling. The 4G stack that BSNL is taking from TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) is upgradable to 5G. Thus, it would not result in huge capex outgo for BSNL to roll out 5G in India.
Read More - BSNL Deploys 1500+ 4G Sites in UP East
The state-run telecom operator would serve 5G NSA (non-standalone) to the customers in parts it has already launched 4G. The current work to launch 4G is ongoing. The telco has a goal of rolling out 1 lakh sites by the end of financial year 2024-25. BSNL has so far rolled out 25,000 sites and is now in the progress to roll out more sites. The 5G launch would also happen in different phases and it would be hard for BSNL to compete head on with the private telecom operators with respect to 5G.
Along with this, Sreenu confirmed that BSNL is working on a new project called 'Sarvathra Wi-Fi'. Under this project, the goal for BSNL would be continue the services of Wi-Fi even as the customer moves from one location to the other. This is basically continuation of services when relocating. As BSNL has a PAN-India presence with its fiber services, this has become even easier for BSNL to execute. This is a sort of service that private telecom operators in India already provide.
Read More - BSNL 4G Services Expected to Go Live in October: Report
As customers await the launch of 4G networks from BSNL, the telecom operator's exectuives have confirmed the 5G launch, which isn't too far from now considering Sankranti is slated in the first half of January 2025.
