The estimated $2 billion mega-contract (about Rs 16,000 crore) between Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) & Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to launch BSNL’s 4G network is nearing completion.
The two corporations have resolved their concerns over pricing as well as other commercial parameters, opening the door for the Tata group-led consortium to become India’s first indigenous global telecom solutions provider in a market dominated by foreign multinationals.
A source with knowledge of the situation stated, “There was a lot of procedural delay on pricing, but it is now expected to be finalized within a few days.” further explaining that closure is desired by the Centre because “it has been delayed for some time.” As part of its mission, the public-private partnership will deploy BSNL’s 4G services over 100,000 towers or sites.
It is envisaged that the entire network for BSNL will be manufactured domestically by Tejas Networks, a subsidiary of TCS’s parent firm, Tata Sons.
The Year 2023 Will See the Introduction of 4G Service.
Around 111 million people get their wireless service from the government-run telecom. It has been claimed that TCS and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), a government-owned telecoms technology developer, have cooperated to create a core 4G solution and radio equipment.
The individual described above added, “effectively the TCS partnership, including C-DoT and Tejas, will be ready for 4G product deployment by early next year.”
Loss-making BSNL had planned to begin offering 4G services in 2019, but it had to scrap bidding for a local provider in 2020 due to government regulations that made international competition too difficult. Consequently, it was ordered to stop using foreign equipment in favor of that made in the USA. The timing of BSNL’s planned 4G rollout is interesting, given that rival telecommunications providers Reliance Jio & Airtel are both planning 5G rollouts for the month of October.
