Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Mittal to face BIG challenge, Ratan Tata's Group join hands with THIS company to launch...

In a significant development for India’s telecom sector, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced that its 4G and 5G services will launch as planned, bringing much-needed connectivity to millions across the nation. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is gearing up to achieve this ambitious goal.

BSNL’s 4G network, designed to be seamlessly upgradable to 5G, is expected to be fully deployed by May 2025. This milestone marks a crucial step forward in India’s digital transformation, strengthening the country’s communication infrastructure and empowering users with faster, more reliable services.

With TCS as a strategic partner, BSNL is gearing up to launch its 4G network and make a big impact in the telecom industry. The network would be upgraded to 5G once BSNL's locations and frequency ranges have been determined, according to media reports. TCS has been appointed as an advisor for this initiative and stated that TCS radio equipment integrated into BSNL’s network can be upgraded to 5G via software enhancements.

The core network, developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), already supports 5G in non-standalone (NSA) mode. The frequency ranges that BSNL is licensed to use are 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2500 MHz, and 3500 MHz. Implementing the 4G network over 100,000 locations across the country is the responsibility of a partnership led by TCS and comprising C-DoT and Tejas Networks of the Tata Group. BSNL has activated 65,000 locations thus far.

A major contributor to the project's telecom equipment production is Tejas Networks, in which Tata Sons owns a 54% share.

If TCS successfully rolls out BSNL’s 4G and 5G networks as planned, it could pose a significant challenge to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel. The telecom giants have already faced intense competition from BSNL, particularly after Jio decided to increase recharge plan prices, which prompted many subscribers to switch to BSNL.