Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday (August 3) said that the subscriber base for the government run-BSNL is on the rise and an indigenously grown 4G network is also ready, and added that work is underway to convert it to 5G. The Union Minister for Communications said that under the Atmanirbhar Bharat, a 4G network with indigenous technology is ready and its services will be available across the nation through the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in a few months.
What did Communications Minister say?
"Several people had asked when Jio, Airtel and Vodafone rolled out the 4G network, why not BSNL? It was the prime minister's resolution that if we have to develop a government-run company's network, we will not use equipment from China or any other foreign country," Scindia said while speaking to the reporters.
He stressed that it was clearly decided that an indigenous technology would be developed.
"PM Modi has resolved under Atmanirbhar Bharat that India will develop its own 4G stack, core system or towers called radiation access network (RAN). India will develop its technology and give a 4G network to countrymen, and it took us one and a half years. Bharat has become the fifth country to have its own indigenous technology," Scindia said, adding that the work of installing the towers is underway.
Companies, including Indian firms such as Tejas Network, C-DOT and TCS, were working in various fields, and BSNL is implementing it, he said.
"We will install 80,000 towers by the end of October and the remaining 21,000 by March next year, which means one lakh towers of 4G network will be installed by March 2025. It will help in speedy downloads and watching television," he said.
BSNL 4G to 5G?
He exuded confidence that the government would soon “complete the journey” from 4G to 5G.
"We can use 5G on this 4G core. We will have to make some changes in the towers for 5G services, and work on this is underway. We will soon complete the journey from 4G to 5G," he said.
Scindia also claimed several telecom customers are switching to BSNL from private service providers. "We have assured them that our service will be prompt," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
ALSO READ | BSNL 4G: How to choose your preferred mobile number online
