As per the report, “As per the government’s mandate, BSNL will use 4G core developed only by the Indian vendors. So, TCS is developing the core as well as RAN for our network,” a top official at BSNL told Business Standard. BSNL plans to upgrade the equipment set up by TCS for the 5G roll-out with necessary software modifications.
When asked about the timeline for signing the final agreement, the official said, “A proof of concept (POC) is being completed. I believe we are done with almost 95 per cent of the procedure. I think we should come with an official announcement in a couple of months.”
The official said the Tata group’s recently acquired subsidiaries Tejas Network and Saankhya Labs would also participate in producing necessary equipment as per the deal.
“TCS is already collaborating with the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDoT) to develop the core. Tata Sons has recently acquired Tejas Networks and Saankhya Labs. So they might use the capacity of these companies to develop other equipment for BSNL’s 4G network,” the official said.
This comes after BSNL Chairman and Managing Director PK Purwar told PTI that the company plans to roll out the 4G network from November. It also plans to gradually upgrade its network to 5G by next August. The state-run company plans to install around 125,000 4G mobile sites in the next 18 months, Purwar said at the India Mobile Congress.
Disc: 20% of portfolio in Tejas Networks
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