Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has gotten a green signal from the government to give the 4G deal or the order for 4G upgradation to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). BSNL had already completed the 4G PoC (proof of concept) trials with the TCS-led consortium, which also includes the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) and Tejas Networks. Now, the govt has given the nod to BSNL for finalising the deal with TCS for 4G upgradation. According to an ET Telecom report, the state-run telco can go ahead with a Rs 26,821 crore order to TCS. The IT major will help BSNL with upgrading over 100,000 sites across the nation.
The report added that TCS would be responsible for handling and maintaining the network for the next nine years. BSNL is expected to launch indigenous 4G networks by January 2023. The state-run telco has about 111 million subscribers right now. The numbers should positively grow once the 4G launch takes place at a wide scale because the tariffs that BSNL offers are very affordable.
In the deal, Tejas Networks will be responsible for providing the equipment for the 4G rollout, while TCS will play the role of a systems integrator. TCS will supply BSNL with the overall core equipment within 12 months of the purchase order. As for the radio equipment supply, that would take another 18 to 24 months.
It would be safe to assume that it would require BSNL at least two years for a wide-scale 4G launch in India. But as soon as it launches 4G in key metro cities, the telco can go ahead with the 5G NSA (non-standalone) rollout. C-DoT has already demonstrated the indigenous 5G core that it designed and built locally during the IMC (India Mobile Congress) 2022. As soon as the commercial deal between BSNL and TCS is finalised, things can go ahead, and India can finally see the homegrown 4G from BSNL.
