The Group of Ministers (GoM) of the Central Government has approved the proposal of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) led consortium to supply equipment for one lakh sites for the launch of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) Fourth Generation (4G) network.
This network is likely to be launched soon, with BSNL planning to issue purchase orders in the coming days.
The order, worth approximately Rs 24,500 crore, includes the purchase of network equipment worth about Rs 13,000 crore.
Tata Group’s TCS will supply 4G equipment for these sites, which can be upgraded to 5G through a software upgrade.
Additionally, Tejas Networks, another Tata group company, has bagged an order worth Rs 696 crore from BSNL for upgrading the countrywide IP-MPLS based Access and Aggregation network of BSNL.
Under this contract, Tejas Networks will supply and install over 13,000 routers of its ‘TJ1400’ series of Next Generation Access and Aggregation Routers.
The central government has reserved spectrum for BSNL in the 600 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands, which will be used to provide 5G services.
While 5G services were launched in the country last year, big telecom companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are rapidly increasing their high-speed network.
