Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a state-run Indian telecom operator, will roll out 23,000 additional 4G sites for the users. Along with this, there will also be many sites that will be upgraded to 5G. For 5G, the state-run telecom operator, will also work on a revenue-share model to compete with the private telecom operators.
Talking to ET, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications, said that private players can install 5G equipment, and BSNL can work with them on a revenue-sharing basis. Then the company can directly upgrade the existing 4G infrastructure to 5G.
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BSNL will also expand the existing 4G coverage. The company is looking to install over 23,000 base transceiver stations (BTS) installed. There are close to 97,000 4G sites operational right now. The quality issues have also been fixed, the minister told the publication.
The company is only deploying indigenous technology for 4G for the last several years, something no other Indian company has done. The 4G from the telco, along with affordable services, can help it in capturing market share from the private telecom operators. However, one thing to note here is that BSNL is rolling out 4G in a time when the private telcos have covered most of the country with 5G.
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Back in 2020, when BSNL wanted to deploy 4G, which would have been a good time to do, the company was stopped by the government. The government asked BSNL to only deploy network technology using homegrown equipment going forward. However, there were no such players who were offering an end-to-end telecom stack. This is why it took so many years for BSNL to also start competing in the 4G segment. Now, the telco has reached a wide part of the country with 4G, and is looking to strengthen coverage further.
