Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said that state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has successfully stabilised its 4G network, marking a major milestone for India’s telecom capabilities. He also highlighted that India has become the fourth country in the world to develop indigenous telecom radio network equipment.
He noted that India has not only developed homegrown 5G radio technology but has also deployed around 100,000 towers, calling it a significant achievement that reflects the country’s growing technological strength.
Following proof-of-concept trials, a consortium involving Tata Consultancy Services, Tejas Networks, and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) carried out large-scale deployment of nearly 1 lakh 4G sites for BSNL.
Globally, the telecom equipment market has long been dominated by firms such as Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE. However, India’s push for self-reliance under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative is now positioning domestic companies to compete more strongly and potentially expand into global markets.
Tejas Networks, based in Bengaluru, is already exploring international opportunities in collaboration with global partners like NEC and Rakuten. The company is also in talks to export its indigenous telecom solutions.
The minister said earlier technical issues had slowed progress, but after coordination with BSNL leadership and consortium partners, the network has now been stabilised and optimised.
Initially, the rollout faced scalability challenges, but improvements in coordination helped resolve key issues and enabled expansion of the network.
TCS is also expected to receive additional orders for nearly 23,000 more sites after technical revisions approved by a committee review.
In August 2023, Tejas Networks secured a ₹7,492 crore order via TCS to supply 4G-5G radio access network equipment for 1 lakh sites, following successful trials in Chandigarh and Ambala. Later, in May 2025, a ₹1,525 crore advance purchase order was issued for 18,685 additional sites, though a final purchase order has been delayed.
The government has allocated spectrum across multiple bands, including 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2500 MHz, and 3300 MHz, to BSNL at auction-based pricing to support 4G and 5G rollout.
Pemmasani also said the government has worked closely with BSNL to upgrade infrastructure, replacing around 50,000 batteries and power systems while modernising ageing cables. These upgrades have helped improve network uptime to over 95 percent.
He added that the only remaining gap for BSNL is additional tower expansion, which will be crucial for improving competitiveness in the telecom market.
The government is also closely monitoring the BharatNet Phase 3 initiative, aimed at connecting over 6 lakh villages with high-speed internet to expand digital access across rural India.
According to him, the programme is being managed in a more data-driven and structured way, with improved accountability mechanisms for implementing agencies.
BSNL has already awarded 16 BharatNet Phase 3 packages funded under the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), with execution currently in early stages.
The Union Cabinet had earlier approved the revised BharatNet programme with an outlay of ₹1.39 lakh crore to strengthen rural digital infrastructure across the country.
