BSNL aims to initially provide 4G services in high-revenue telecom circles in India

Indian company Tejas Networks said it has recently executed a master contract for the supply, support and annual maintenance services of its Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment for state-run telco BSNL, which aims to deploy a nationwide 4G/5G network in India.

As a part of this contract, Tejas Networks received a purchasefrom Tata Consultancy Systems (TCS) for $900 million to supply its latest 4G/5G RAN equipment for approximately 100,000 sites, which will be executed during 2023 and 2024.

Tejas Networks highlighted that it had won thisafter successfully completing extensive trials as part of a consortium led by TCS.

Anand Athreya, CEO and managing director of Tejas Networks said: “We are delighted to be selected as the sole supplier of 4G/5G RAN equipment for one of the largest mobile networks in the world. Our portfolio of baseband and radio products will enable BSNL to roll out a scalable and cost-effective network that meets world-class performance and quality standards.”

Kumar Sivarajan, CTO of Tejas Networks said the company’s 4G/5G RAN products were subjected to rigorous field testing by BSNL for nearly eighteen months before being chosen for this large-scale commercial deployment.

BSNL aims to initially provide 4G services in high-revenue telecom circles in India. Currently, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Punjab are among the high-revenue-earning circles for the state-owned carrier. According to previous reports, BSNL expects to cover all telecom circles in India with its 4G services by the end of its upcoming financial year, which ends in March 2024.

The government of India previously confirmed it had earmarked a total of INR890 billion ($10.8 billion) for the allotment of spectrum for BSNL to launch nationwide 4G and 5G services.

Through this move, the state-owned telco has access to spectrum in the 700 MHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz bands. With this spectrum allotment, BSNL will be able to provide pan-India 4G and 5G service, provide 4G coverage in rural regions under various connectivity projects, provide fixed wireless access (FWA) service and offer services or spectrum for private networks.

In May, BSNL had ordered $1.83 billion worth of infrastructure equipment and software from TCS. Also in May, a group of ministers approved the proof-of-concept by the TCS consortium for BSNL using an indigenous technology stack, and gave the company the approval to issue the purchase order.

According to previous reports, the Indian government had said that only Indian telecoms vendors will be allowed to supply equipment for state-run telcos BSNL and MTNL’s 4G and 5G projects, as part of the country’s efforts to reduce dependence on international providers.

The government of India previously confirmed that BSNL will start offering 5G services by end-2023.