The Minister of Communications, the government-run BSNL telecom network, anticipates launching 4G services in India by January 2023 and 5G services by August of next year, according to Ashwini Vaishnaw. This is happening as Airtel and Jio gradually build out 5G services throughout the nation; it is anticipated that this will be done by March 2024.
BSNL To Roll Out 4G and 5G in India
The government-run telecom network BSNL is on schedule to introduce 4G services to the nation by January 2023, according to new information from Minister of Communication Ashwini Vaishnaw. The Economics Times quoted Vaishnav as adding, “We are on track to roll out BSNL’s 4G with a target to launch services in the first week of January.” In the same conversation, he announced the 5G launch strategy and said that by August next year, 5G services would be implemented in the BSNL network. In some cases, though, it will happen simultaneously, allowing the public sector telco to catch up to the private sector. According to earlier reports, BSNL was attempting to introduce 4G and 5G with the aid of homegrown technologies. In order to do this, the government’s Center for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) collaborated to provide BSNL with the in-house 4G core technology. After the successful conclusion of beta testing, BSNL plans to start offering the next-generation 5G network on August 15, 2023. C-DOT has also revealed the domestic 5G core technology. The ministry is also working on a draft of the Indian Telecommunication Bill 2022 to make the industry “future ready” in terms of regulatory and legal concerns, in addition to the implementation of 5G services. According to the proposal, voice, video, and data services provided by over-the-top (OTT) platforms like WhatsApp should be regulated as telecom services and be required to seek a licence from the government, just like other telecom operators. It’s noteworthy that DoT intends to just provide light-touch regulations for OTT services.
