Tejas Networks has reportedly rejected Bharti Airtel’s allegations that its telecom equipment deployed by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is causing network interference in Rajasthan. The Tata-owned firm said its telecom equipment meets all industry-required quality benchmarks and is operating without issues across more than 100,000 sites nationwide.
Also Read: Airtel Reiterates Tejas Gear Sub-Standard, Rejects Proximity Explanation
Cause of Interference Disputed
The company stressed that its equipment “cannot be sub-standard in only one band in one state” when it co-exists with other operators’ networks across India without interference.
"Since our equipment is co-existing with other operators' equipment in all states across 100,000 sites, without any interference issues, it can obviously not be sub-standard in only one band in one state," Tejas Networks told the Economic Times in a statement, according to a report dated November 27, 2025.
Airtel, in a November 14 letter, claimed that technical non-conformance in Tejas’s radio equipment and filter design was leading to interference in its network. Tejas dismissed the allegation, stating in its November 24 response that the interference was primarily due to Airtel placing its sites too close to BSNL’s towers without ensuring adequate coupling losses.
Also Read: Airtel Alleges BSNL 4G Gear Causing Network Interference in Rajasthan; Tejas Denies
Additional Filters as Mitigation
According to the report, Tejas acknowledged that when two operators’ base stations using adjacent spectrum bands are deployed in close physical proximity with antennas facing each other, extra filtering becomes essential to mitigate adjacent-channel interference. The company said BSNL has already installed such filters at about 1,000 sites and can scale up deployments if required.
"The local gear maker, however, said if the antennae of two telcos face each other at relative proximity, additional filters need to be put up, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) had already implemented them at a thousand sites and more can be deployed, if required," the report added.
What Industry Experts Say
Industry experts noted that since Airtel rolled out its network earlier, BSNL should have accounted for potential interference during procurement. Tejas is understood to have built equipment as per BSNL’s tender specifications.
An unnamed industry executive was quoted as saying that it is possible BSNL did not factor in interference issues when issuing the tender for 4G radio equipment to Tejas, which manufactured the gear as per the requirements in the tender document. Once the interference issue emerged, the solution was to install additional filters to mitigate the problem.
Also Read: Tejas Networks Rejects Airtel’s Claims, Blames Tower Proximity for Interference
What Tejas Says
Tejas reportedly said its equipment complies fully with 3GPP standards and BSNL/TEC emission norms “with a very good margin,” and maintained that the issue is operational rather than technical.
"However, when two base stations operating in adjacent bands are located in close proximity at neighbouring sites, with the antennae facing each other, it is essential to implement additional filtering on the antennas to mitigate adjacent channel interference. As we have mentioned, BSNL is in the process of deploying additional filters for this purpose and has already implemented them at approximately 1000 sites," Tejas was quoted as saying, according to reports.
Also Read: BSNL Flags Weak Signals at Thousands of New 4G Towers, Seeks Fix from TCS and Tejas
DoT Steps In to Resolve Airtel–BSNL Issue
Tejas Networks will cooperate with Bharti Airtel and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to resolve the network interference issues reported in Rajasthan quickly, the Tata group company said on Wednesday, according to a LiveMint report by Jatin Grover dated November 26, 2025.
The announcement follows the department of telecommunications (DoT), through its wireless planning and coordination (WPC) wing, taking charge of the Airtel-BSNL signal interference matter, with officials saying the issue is under active supervision and moving toward a workable technical solution, according to the report.
