Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Stephen Rose
CEO Render Networks


Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-run telecom operator which has been struggling to launch 4G network, is likely going to launch 5G soon. Sounds surprising, right, and maybe a little confusing too? Well, worry not; we have an update for you. In the ongoing India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 event, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) introduced its indigenous 5G core. The RAN (Radio Access Network) solution for this 5G NSA (non-standalone) network has been provided by WiSig Networks and VVDN Technologies.
If you are aware of what’s been happening with BSNL, you know that the government doesn’t want BSNL to source the network technology and the equipment from outside India for both 4G and 5G. This is why this C-DoT core for 5G NSA (non-standalone) is very crucial for BSNL.
At the IMC 2022 being held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, C-DoT is demonstrating its 5G NSA core which is latching on to a Chandigarh pilot network from C-DoT, and then a Samsung phone is connected to the 5G network of this NSA core. Take a look at the image below, which we captured, which shows both BSNL and 5G in Samsung’s smartphone.

Image – 1 of BSNL 5G network on Samsung phone

Image – 2 of BSNL 5G network on Samsung phone
Now, our Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that BSNL’s 5G launch could come at the time of August 15, 2023. I think that it would be possible because BSNL’s 4G launch is expected in early 2023. TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) may score a Rs 16,000 crore deal from BSNL. Tejas Networks is expected to locally manufacture the equipment for BSNL.