After gaining lakhs of new customers in July, now BSNL seems to be all prepared to work on its 4G roll out.
A New Era For BSNL
The telecom service provider has gained the flux of new subscribers due to hike in tariff plans by private telecom operators such as Jio, Airtel and Vi.
But now, the telecom service provider wants to retain its new and existing customers and work on offering new services.
In addition to this BSNL has completed testing of its 5G services recently.
It appears that the state-owned telecom company has conducted successful tests of domestically developed 5G RAN (radio access network) and core in the 3.6 GHz and 700 MHz spectrum bands, said Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Jyotiraditya M Scindia, the Union Minister of Telecommunications in India, stated,
Further adding, “We have successfully conducted trials of Indigenous 5G RAN and Core in both the 3.6 GHz and 700 MHz bands, and India will soon deploy indigenous 5G services.”
This appears to be a 360 degree change as earlier “In terms of financials, yes, BSNL was bleeding. But in the last 2 years, we have had a positive EBITDA. So we are not in the red on EBITDA,” Jyotiraditya noted.
Presently, BSNL is deploying 4G sites, which will further be upgraded to 5G by 2025.
They have a embisious goal of setting 100,000 sites by mid-2025.
This holds a great significance as BSNL is going to be the first operator in the country to deploy indigenous 4G and 5G.
The work has already started and so far 39,000 4G sites have been deployed in the country.
The telecom is planning to deploy the rest by the end of the current financial year or by the end of the first quarter of the next financial year.
Having Access To Premium 700 MHz Band
Besides Reliance Jio, BSNL is the only telecom operator with access to the premium 700 MHz band, which provides extensive coverage.
It appears that the Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) have chosen not to invest in this band due to its high cost, especially since it would not add significant value for Bharti Airtel.
