BSNL has drawn up a comprehensive plan for the rollout of 4G and then 5G.
The complete plan of BSNL, the telecom company considered to be the strongman of the telecom industry, has come to light. The company will soon start 4G service. 5G service will also start within 6 to 8 months. According to information revealed by sources, BSNL is planning to acquire a 25 percent stake in the telecom industry of the country. The company believes that this target will be achieved by the year 2025.
It is clear that the next one and a half years are going to be very tough for the big private companies in the country. The reason for this is that the tariff rates of government companies are expected to be much lower as compared to private companies. Especially the 5G tariffs can be much lower than that of private companies. In such a situation, BSNL can pose a tough competition to Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
Similarly, telecom companies have since increased the tariff. Since then, it has shifted from private companies to BSNL. This trend may continue in the future as well. The government is busy reviving the government telecom companies in the country. Therefore, BSNL has started preparations to bring it on board for 4G and 5G.
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What is the goal?
Quoting an official in the media report, it was reported that by March 2025, BSNL will expand 4G service across the country. In a way, this is considered a deadline. This means that millions of customers in the country will be upgraded from 2G and 3G to 4G. This too at cheaper rates than private telecom companies. After that, the company plans to start 5G service in the country within 6 to 8 months i.e. by October or November 2025. The company plans to upgrade existing 4G sites to 5G by converting them into simple cards and updating the software. Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone have started 5G service.
Has BSNL made a complete plan?
An official was quoted in the media report as saying that the same technology that runs BSNL’s 4G network will also power the 5G network. It will be a kind of cloud-based architecture that will work with any hardware. What’s special is that the servers handling the core will also be the same. The country’s Telecom Minister recently made a 5G call over the live 4G network in Haryana using the same core, which was connected to the system at the C-DOT campus in Delhi.
On the other hand, the country’s government-owned telecom company has installed 15,000 4G towers in circles like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Western UP, and Haryana. There is a plan to increase the number of this tower to 80,000 by October. Another 21 thousand towers will be installed till March 2025. That means the government plans to install more than one lakh 4G towers in the country by March 2025. On the other hand, BSNL has awarded a Rs 19,000 crore tender to TCS, Tejas Networks, and ITI to set up a 4G network. This network will also be upgraded to 5G. On August 10, the news came that the government-owned telecom company will launch a universal wireless SIM platform that will support both 4G and 5G.
Will BSNL give Airtel-Jio sleepless nights?
The media report, citing the official, said that BSNL has set a target of acquiring a 25 per cent share in the country’s telecom industry by the end of 2025. This target is enough to give Airtel and Jio sleepless nights. Currently, the CMD of the government-owned telecom company is prioritising the rollout of 4G and 5G as soon as possible to retain customers and increase quality. Currently, BSNL’s market share is 7.4 per cent. While at present the number of mobile customers is 8.63 crore.
About 40 days ago, tariffs for private telecom service providers were increased. This increase was up to 15 percent. After this increase, many customers switched to BSNL. Within 15 days of tariff increase, 250,000 customers have been transferred to BSNL. By the way, the government is keeping a very close eye on this entire project. The government is setting up a project management unit to monitor the progress of this entire project and ensure that the target is completed on time. However, to revive the company, the government has released 3.2 crore rupees as part of the package thrice.
