Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) will be getting Rs 53,000 crore from the Indian government to get going with the upgradation of legacy networks to 4G and 5G. BSNL's network upgradation will be done using homegrown technology. The state-run telco still majorly provides 3G network services to customers across India. According to an ET report, on Wednesday, the day of the budget announcements by the central government, union telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that in the fiscal year starting April 1, 2023, BSNL will get a capital infusion of Rs 53,000 crore by the govt to upgrade its network to 4G and 5G.
Note that this Rs 53,000 crore is not in addition to the Rs 1.64 lakh crore relief package announced in 2022. It is actually a part of the same package and would boost the chances of BSNL and MTNL to increase their business in India.
Read More - Airtel has Increased Validity of Rs 359 Plan for Users
According to the report, Vaishnaw said that BSNL had raised fresh debt with sovereign guarantees that were a part of the relief package announced in 2022. Now, the state-run telco would be looking at the installation of new mobile towers and upgrading the legacy network to 4G and 5G, along with revamping the landline systems.
BSNL to Launch 4G in the Second Half of 2023
BSNL is going to launch 4G in the second half of 2023. The state-run telco is going to upgrade over 1,00,000 sites to 4G using homegrown technology, which is also upgradable to 5G in the future. The 5G deployment is likely to follow in 2024 if BSNL can launch 4G in 2023.
Read More - Government to Set Up 100 Labs for 5G Use Cases: Budget 2023
During the budget speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government would be setting up 100 new labs for developing applications using 5G services in engineering institutions.
