BSNL will start to deploy 4G services in India this year

Indian state-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) could launch 5G services by March 2024, Indian press reported, citing the country’s Minister of Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Vaishnaw also confirmed that the state-owned operator will start to deploy 4G services in India this year. The telco previously said it aimed to deploy 125,000 4G sites nationwide within the next 18 months.

BSNL is working with TCS and C-DOT to launch a 4G network.

Vaishnaw also clarified that initially, BSNL’s 5G network will be based on the NonStandalone (NSA) architecture.

The 5G spectrum auction in India concluded on August 1 and according to Vaishnaw, local carriers purchased a total $19 billion worth of spectrum.

Reliance Jio walked away with the most spectrum, having spent $11 billion. Airtel won spectrum worth $5.4 billion, while Vodafone Idea received spectrum worth $2.4 billion. Finally, Adani purchased spectrum worth approximately $27 million, which it will use to offer private 5G network services.

Last month, BSNL asked the Indian government for more spectrum for the future deployment of 5G technology.

According to the reports, the Indian government has already set aside 5G frequencies for the operator. However, India’s Minister of State for Telecom Devusinh Chauhan confirmed that BSNL is seeking more 5G airwaves than what has been already reserved for it. The minister said that BSNL also wants airwaves in the 700 MHz band.

Currently, local carrier Reliance Jio is the only telco that owns spectrum in the 700 MHz range, as it had secured 10 megahertz of pan-India spectrum in the 700 MHz band in the 5G spectrum auction.

According to local reports, the government has already reserved over 10 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 600 MHz band, 40 megahertz in the 3300 MHz band and 400 megahertz in the 26 GHz band for the state-run telco. However, BSNL doesn’t feel it is sufficient for the 5G rollout and has asked for more airwaves. This reserved spectrum for BSNL is supposed to be used by the telco to provide nationwide 5G services in India.

Chauhan said that BSNL has requested for 10 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band, as well as 30 megahertz of additional spectrum in the 3.3 GHz band and 400 megahertz in the 26 GHz band.

The reports also noted that the government has asked Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to offer equipment to BSNL to carry out 5G testing so that the telco can start 5G trials.