Tata Group's telecom equipment manufacturer, Tejas Networks, has successfully completed the supply of telecom gear for over 1 lakh sites as part of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited's (BSNL) nationwide 4G and 5G rollout. The project, part of a Rs 7,492-crore deal awarded in August 2023, marks one of the largest single-vendor Radio Access Network (RAN) deployments globally.
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Largest Single-Vendor RAN Deployments
"We shipped close to more than 100,000 sites for the BSNL 4G/5G network. This is one of the largest single-vendor RAN network in the world ever delivered in record time," said Anand Athreya, CEO and MD of Tejas Networks, during the company's recent earnings call. He credited the achievement to the consortium comprising Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), C-DoT, and BSNL.
BSNL 4G Launch
BSNL is slated to launch its 4G services in June 2025—nearly nine years after private telecom operators introduced theirs. The state-run operator plans to upgrade to 5G following the stabilisation of its 4G network.
Despite reporting a consolidated loss of Rs 72 crore for the March quarter, Tejas Networks saw a 44 percent year-on-year increase in quarterly revenue from operations to Rs 1,907 crore. For the full financial year ending March 31, 2025, the company posted a consolidated profit of Rs 446.53 crore, with revenue tripling to Rs 8,923 crore.
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Strategic Collaboration with NEC
In a strategic move, Tejas Networks entered into a technology collaboration with Japan's NEC Corporation during the quarter. "We also signed a very strategic technology collaboration agreement with NEC Corporation Japan. And this is for the development of advanced wireless technologies, RAN technologies, and also the Core and EPC and also a joint go-to-market. So as two companies, we can take it to our customers," the CEO said.
"Roughly from what I know, BSNL has 100,000 towers, but many of the private operators have upwards of 200,000 towers. So we do look forward to a lot of the expansion of BSNL network for them to be able to compete with those operators. And that is a significant opportunity for us, both in terms of expanding the 4G network as well as upgrades to 5G, which is part of the tender that came out," said Tejas Networks Chief Operating Officer Arnob Roy, in response to a question about the number of 4G towers BSNL needs to compete with private telecom players.
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Vodafone Idea Partnership Execution
The company also completed phase one of a three-year telecom gear supply contract with Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), secured in December, to enhance backend network capacity across multiple circles. Arnob Roy confirmed that the initial phase has been executed and discussions are underway for follow-up orders.
Looking ahead, the company is in advanced talks for a new contract with BSNL and is also preparing to bid for the Rail Kavach project—Indian Railways' train collision avoidance system.
