05 October 2023

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is looking to launch 4G in remote villages in India.

The state-run operator is set to bring homegrown 4G to 32 remote villages in Kothagudem, a city in Telangana. According to Priyanka Ala, district collector, BSNL will construct 4G towers in 32 villages where there is no cell coverage in the district.

After a meeting with the BSNL officials, the collector was requested to allocate two guntas (1,089 square feet) of land for the construction of cell towers in the villages. Out of the 32 villages, in 26 the land would be allocated by the revenue department while in the remaining 6, the land would be allocated after discussions with the agricultural officials. This is because, in some villages, the land is under the agriculture department.

These villages have been chosen by the officials and the government because there is no cell connectivity there. Getting access to high-speed mobile networks would be a beneficial thing for the people living in these areas. BSNL will be bringing homegrown 4G in all these villages, something none of the private telcos could do.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tejas Networks will help BSNL roll out the networks. Ashwini Vaishnaw, IT and telecom minister, said that BSNL will roll out 4G in 300 sites every day after September.