BSNL recently said it has reached 800,000 4G subscribers in its initial launch phase
Indian company Tejas Networks said it expects to conclude supplying 4G/5G network equipment to compatriot state-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) this fiscal year, ending March 31, 2025, as part of a contract won by parent company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)-led consortium last year, local newspaper The Economic Times reported.
The consortium includes Tejas Networks as well as the Center for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), run by the Indian government. TCS acts as the system integrator, while Tejas Networks is supplying 4G/5G network equipment and C-DoT is supplying its network core solutions.
In August 2023, Tejas had secured a contract of about $900 million to supply its latest 4G/5G Radio Access Network (RAN) for state-run BSNL’s pan-India network, spanning 100,000 sites, the report added.
“We shipped a lot of equipment for 4G/5G RAN in the BSNL network. We have shipped cumulatively more than 10,000 sites, and the installations are progressing quite well,” Arnob Roy, chief operating officer at Tejas, said during a recent call with investors, adding that the remaining 90,000 sites are expected to be deployed in the next three to four quarters.
The executive also said that the company was having talks with potential customers to secure additional deals. “We are also engaged with several other customers for our RAN products, and as of now, we have multiple ongoing proof of concepts (PoC) with potential customers. So, we have started making business development progress beyond the immediate BSNL opportunity,” Roy said.
The executive also highlighted that Tejas has also completed the supply of “large quantities” of IP/MPLS routers for BSNL’s MPLS-IP based Access and Aggregation Network (MAAN) network, which forms the backhaul network for the telco’s 4G/5G mobile network.
The executive noted that this is one of the largest deployments of indigenous IP/MPLS routers in India.
BSNL has reached 800,000 4G subscribers in its initial launch phase across North Indian regions of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh. The telco initially launched 4G services in these regions using indigenous network technology.
BSNL highlighted that its initial 3,500 sites offer 4G services on both a commercial and trial basis.
A BSNL executive recently noted that commercial services could be launched once the telco’s 4G network reached 20,000 active base stations at a national level. BSNL previously said it expects to provide 4G services nationwide through the deployment of 100,000 base stations.
BSNL is targeting a 20% market share of the country’s overall mobile market by the end of 2024 by accelerating the rollout of its 4G network, according to recent press reports.
