Modi To Launch BSNL's 4G Stack, 100 pc 4G Saturation Project: Scindia
The minister also said that over 97,500 mobile 4G towers would be commissioned by the PM at Jharsuguda, Odisha, on September 27
New Delhi: Union minister of communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch two landmark initiatives on Saturday — the indigenous 4G stack of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and the country’s 100 per cent 4G saturation project under the Digital Bharat Nidhi scheme, marking India’s entry into a coveted league of nations such as Denmark, Sweden, South Korea, and China that produce and manufacture home-grown telecom equipment.
“This is a new era for the telecom sector. The 4G stack will be deployed across nearly 98,000 sites nationwide, covering every part of the country. Our 4G towers and BTSs are already serving 22 million customers across India. It’s fully software-driven, cloud-based, and future-ready. Most importantly, it will upgrade seamlessly to 5G,” Scindia said in an event here.
The minister also said that over 97,500 mobile 4G towers would be commissioned by the PM at Jharsuguda, Odisha, on September 27. “Over 92,600 mobile sites installed by BSNL are of indigenised 4G technology, which is 5G upgradable, featuring a radio access network or RAN developed by Tejas network, a core network by C-DOT and integrated by Tata Consultancy Services,” he said.
In a release, Scindia also said that more than 4,700 mobile 4G towers have been installed by both Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel and 14,180 mobile 4G towers under the saturation project have been funded by Digital Bharat Nidhi. “These towers cover 26,700 unconnected villages in remote, border, and left-wing extremism-affected areas and will be a strategic enabler for digital India, serving over two million new subscribers and powering a range of e-governance services, digital payments, online education, telemedicine and citizen-centric applications,” he said.
The minister further said that the India-made network is cloud-based, future-ready and can upgrade seamlessly to 5G. “I will be in Guwahati for the launch. India has entered into the domain of top countries such as Denmark, Sweden, South Korea, and China that produce and manufacture telecom equipment and India is now the fifth country. This big change in attitude, change in goals was pushed, pioneered and catalysed by the PM,” Scindia said.