Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a state-run Indian telecom operator, will deploy 4,000 4G towers in Naxalite affected areas of Chhattisgarh. BSNL has already covered many LWE (Left Wing Extremism) sites in Chhattisgarh. The idea is to bring digital connectivity in backward areas so that digital literacy and access to new opportunity grows equally for citizens. The development was confirmed by Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Telecom, at an event in Raipur, Chhattisgharh.
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Pemmasani is in a three-day visit to Chhattisgarh. The minister will chair high-level meetings with officials from the Department of Post, DoT (Department of Telecommunications), BSNL and more. He will review whether the schemes rolled out by the central government are being implemented or not.
The installation of new towers in the Naxalite affected areas will be done in multiple phases. For it to be executed properly, permissions need to come from the security forces as well as the forest department.
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"BSNL is currently providing high-quality 4G services across the country, and with this expansion, we are realizing the mission of delivering digital connectivity to the last village in the country," said Pemmasani.
BSNL has been using homegrown technology to offer 4G to people of India. These sites are mostly funded by the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), earlier known as USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund). The telcos, as well as BSNL, can get funding from the government under DBN if they are rolling out sites in backward areas where the government wants connectivity to reach. BSNL has had 4G in the state of Chhattisgarh in cities like Bilaspur for a long time. There are some sites which are deployed using Nokia gear too. These are sites which were rolled out around or before 2020. Since then, the focus has been on using indigenous technology only.
