BSNL Can’t Do 5G Straightaway, 4G Required: Opinion

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), regardless of its falling reputation, is loved by many in India. One thing that’s become evident from the statements of the government is that the telco won’t be privatised and its 4G networks will be leveraged to make it profitable again. There are many who question BSNL’s attempt to roll out 4G networks when it is on the verge of becoming a legacy network and believe that the telco should invest in 5G instead to gain the upper hand over the other operators. But it isn’t as simple; let me explain.

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BSNL Can’t Invest on 5G Directly

One thing that you need to understand about 5G is that there will be two types of 5G networks available in India – 5G standalone (SA) and 5G non-standalone (NSA) networks. In simple words, 5G NSA, as the name suggests, will operate with a 5G radio being dependent on a 4G core and 4G network while 5G SA will operate independently where the 5G radio will be directly connected to the 5G core.

Now, why is this important to understand? Hear me out.

BSNL has two options here, either jump to 5G directly or go with 4G. The telco can’t go with 5G because – a) it doesn’t have an existing 4G network to roll out 5G NSA network; b) 5G SA is way more costly than deploying 5G NSA, and c) BSNL doesn’t have the money to invest 5G SA on top of which the lack of experience of Indian vendors and proven technology in the area is a problem.