Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has deployed its first 4G saturation site on VSAT (very small aperture terminal) media in Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh. For the unaware, the climate condition in this district is extremely cold. BSNL has deployed this site covering the remotest village in the district, Rarik so that high-speed broadband connectivity reaches people living in the region. The temperature in the region goes below negative six degrees.
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Since it has been deployed by the state-run telecom operator under the 4G saturation project, the expenses were covered by Digital Bharat Nidhi (previously known as Universal Service Obligation Fund). BSNL is using homegrown technology to expand its 4G networks in the country.
Much recently, BSNL also launched its Direct-to-Device (D2D) service in partnership with Viasat. The telco became the first operator to launch this service in the country. This will ensure that seamless connectivity reaches the remotest corners of the country. Both Viasat and BSNL successfully demonstrated a trial of the service.
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In the trial, Viasat showcased a two-way messaging and SOS emergency communication on an Android phone that was capable of NTN (non-terrestrial network) connectivity. This will be a gamechanging service, especially for people who are travelling to or living in remote parts of the country where mobile networks are not present or easily discoverable.
Starlink, a major satcom (satellite communications) company is also going to enable D2D service for customers in 2025 which will allow them to use data and make calls also. At present, Starlink's D2D service only allows consumers to send SOS/emergency messages. The benefit of D2D service is that consumers don't need additional hardware or gear to make calls or send messages.
