Telecom operator BSNL 5G sites light up in multiple state capitals

State-owned telecom operator targets full-scale 4G launch by June, 5G rollout to follow

State-owned telecom operator BSNL has started testing 5G infrastructure, with tower sites beginning to operate in Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, and Chennai, and a few other state capitals, BSNL officials said. Most of these sites are 4G sites installed as part of the ongoing 100,000 4G sites deployment, they added.

 

While the telco officially plans to begin 5G operations in the next three months, network infrastructure is being tested in telecom circles where BSNL has a strong presence, officials said. "We are also rolling out base transceiver stations (BTS) in many cities such as Kanpur, Pune, Vijayawada, Coimbatore and Kollam," an official added. A BTS is a fixed radio transceiver in any mobile network, most often in the form of a tower.

 

Earlier this week, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Robert J Ravi said 5G service would first be introduced in Delhi, utilising a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) model. The company has begun offering free 4G SIM upgrades to its users in select circles.

 

Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) is a cloud-based business model where customers rent networking services from a provider, eliminating the need to build and maintain their own network infrastructure.

 

Since October last year, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has stressed that BSNL will roll out its 4G network nationwide by June 2025, and convert them to 5G within a month. More than 83,000 of these sites have been installed, while 75,000 of these were live by early March. BSNL’s plans to launch 4G years after Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea rolled it out have repeatedly been delayed. As a result, BSNL’s customer base has constantly shrunk. BSNL’s mobile services market share was 7.99 per cent as of December 31, 2024. Officials say the ongoing momentum of deployment is expected to see the network roll out plans through.

 

Slow rollout

 

In 2023, the BSNL board, and later a group of ministers had cleared a ₹24,500 crore contract to a TCS-led consortium to provide 4G equipment for the new telecom towers. Network gear for about ₹13,000 crore as well as third-party items and a 10-year annual maintenance contract is also covered in the contract. In June, 2023, the firm issued an advance purchase order of around ₹19,000 crore to TCS and government-run ITI Limited for the same

 

Subsequently, BSNL officials insisted the deadlines of December 2023 and June 2024 could not be met as operational challenges were being quickly cleared. However, the BSNL management has now told the employees that delay by TCS in delivering the equipment has made the timeline difficult to adhere to.

 

BSNL has also introduced a 4G and 5G compatible over-the-air and Universal SIM (USIM) platform. This platform, developed in collaboration with Pyro Holdings, will allow subscribers to select their mobile numbers and replace SIMs without any geographical limitations. Earlier, the operator has completed trials for its 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and core network across 3.6 GHz and 700 MHz frequency bands. 

Ready for waves 

 

> 5G testing has begun in Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, Chennai, and other state capitals

> Most 5G sites are upgraded 4G sites, part of the 100,000 4G deployment plan

> Official 5G rollout in 3 months, with testing focused on strong BSNL circles

> 4G rollout delayed multiple times; 83,000+ sites installed, 75,000 live by early March

> BSNL’s mobile market share at 7.99% (Dec 2024) due to migration to private operators