BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd), the State-owned service, is all set to roll out its 4G services next month from Kerala, followed by Odisha, as stated by a top official of the company. The telecom corporation expects that the resultant 4G roll out on Long Term Evolution route (a benchmark for high-speed wireless communication) will allow its mobile consumers to benefit from faster data speeds and enhance its user experience.
Anupam Shrivastava, the Managing Director and Chairman of BSNL, said, “We are going to initiate 4G soon from Kerala, which will be our foremost circle for the 4G LTE. Primarily, we will concentrate on those regions where there is low 3G coverage.” He added, “This will be pursued by Odisha, an income positive circle for the company.”
The state-owned Telco—that rivals with private operators such as Vodafone, Jio, and Bharti Airtel who have already established a 4G footprint—anticipates the 5 MHz spectrum it at present has in the 2100 MHz band to be enough for the primary roll out of its 4G services.
However, to extend the 4G service to remaining nation, the company will need further spectrum. BSNL, for this, is looking for another 5 MHz spectrum within the 2100 MHz band that it desires to fund by providing extra equity to its supporter, the government.
Shrivastava said, “Once the added 5 MHz spectrum is received by us, we’ll initiate to roll out in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and more places. Thus, the network will become 4G, 3G, and 2G with improved data capability.”
BSNL—that across India has a mobile customers base of 10 Crore (except Delhi and Mumbai circles)—anticipate launching by March 2018 around 10,000 4G mobile towers. After the extra spectrum is achieved, this digit will increase, he added. BSNL intends to have a distinct brand identity for its 4G services, as said by Shrivastava mentioning that it will be declared at the time of launch of services.