BSNL Subscribers Increasing Rapidly, Made in India 4G Network Ready: Telecom Minister

There are signs of recovery for the government telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which has been facing difficulties for the last few years. Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that the number of BSNL subscribers is increasing. Along with this, the indigenous 4G network is ready. Work is being done to convert this network into 5G.

Scindia said that under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, a 4G network using indigenous technology is ready and in a few months its service will be available across the country through BSNL. He said, “When Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel launched 4G networks, many people had asked why not BSNL? It was the Prime Minister’s resolve that if we have to develop the network of the government telecom company, then we will not use equipment from China or any other country.” It was decided that an indigenous technology would be developed.

The challenge for BSNL is increasing from private telecom companies. Big telecom companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have started their 5G service in almost the entire country. Due to this, BSNL was losing subscribers in the last few months. However, after the tariff hike last month, some subscribers from private telecom companies have shifted to BSNL.

Regarding this, Scindia said, “We will install about 80,000 towers by the end of October. After this, the remaining 21,000 towers will be installed by March next year. This will make downloading easier. We have to make some changes in the towers for 5G services and work is being done on this. We will soon complete the journey from 4G to 5G.” Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was requested to help the company. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) had said that the presence of BSNL is important to control the dominance of private telecom companies in pricing. In a letter written to Prime Minister Modi, BMS had requested that it should be ensured that BSNL is allowed to use 4G and 5G related equipment from international vendors until indigenous technology is developed.