BSNL is accelerating its 4G rollout, planning to deploy 100,000 new 4G towers by mid‑2025 using a fully indigenous telecom stack—developed by C‑DoT, Tejas Networks, and TCS—under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative
📊 Progress So Far
- As of now, BSNL has installed approximately 62,201 towers, far short of its 100,000 target
- Another report confirms 93,450 towers are already in place and nearing full activation .
- The rollout formally began mid‑2024, with ~35,000 launched by September 2024 .
🧩 Who’s Building It?
BSNL has partnered with:
- TCS – awarded ~₹2,903 crore contract covering 18,685 sites for 4G infrastructure setup timesofindia
- Earlier consortium: C‑DoT, Tejas Networks, and TCS for core and RAN development
🌐 Why It Matters
- This is a rare fully domestic deployment of 4G/5G infrastructure.
- It strengthens BSNL’s chances to reclaim market share, especially among budget-sensitive users
- Laying a strong 4G foundation enables a smoother transition to 5G and beyond, with rollouts expected post-mid‑2025
🔮 What Comes Next?
- Mid‑2025 is the target to hit the 100k tower mark, enabling comprehensive 4G coverage.
- 5G deployment is set to follow after achieving this milestone
- BSNL’s network is expected to support VoLTE/VoWIFI and eventually VoNR over 5G
