India has achieved a major milestone in telecom technology with the successful stabilisation of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s BSNL indigenous 4G network, according to Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani.
The minister said India has now become the 4th country in the world to develop telecom radio network equipment using homegrown technology. “India is only the 4th country that has done that, and not only installed 100,000 towers, which was a monumental task, but is now scaling the network,” Pemmasani said.
Following a proof-of-concept phase, Tata Consultancy Services, Tejas Networks and Centre for Development of Telematics jointly deployed 1 lakh 4G sites for BSNL.
The global telecom equipment market is currently dominated by companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and ZTE. India’s progress in indigenous telecom development is being viewed as a boost to the country’s self-reliance goals and could support expansion into global markets.
Pemmasani said earlier scalability issues in the indigenous network have now been resolved through coordination between BSNL and consortium partners. He added that the network is now fully stabilised and ready for expansion.
Tejas Networks had earlier received a ₹7,492 crore purchase order from TCS in August 2023 for supplying 4G and 5G radio access network equipment across 1 lakh sites. In May 2025, Tejas also received a ₹1,525 crore advance purchase order for supplying equipment across 18,685 additional sites.
The minister further stated that the government replaced nearly 50,000 batteries, power plants and ageing cables to improve BSNL’s network performance, helping increase uptime to over 95%.
He added that BSNL now mainly requires additional telecom towers to strengthen its market position against private telecom operators.
Pemmasani also highlighted progress under the BharatNet Phase-3 programme aimed at connecting more than 6 lakh villages with high-speed internet. The project received Cabinet approval in August 2023 with an outlay of ₹1.39 lakh crore.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
Do Follow: The Mainstream LinkedIn | The Mainstream Facebook | The Mainstream Youtube | The Mainstream Twitter
About us:
The Mainstream is a premier platform delivering the latest updates and informed perspectives across the technology business and cyber landscape. Built on research-driven, thought leadership and original intellectual property, The Mainstream also curates summits & conferences that convene decision makers to explore how technology reshapes industries and leadership. With a growing presence in India and globally across the Middle East, Africa, ASEAN, the USA, the UK and Australia, The Mainstream carries a vision to bring the latest happenings and insights to 8.2 billion people and to place technology at the centre of conversation for leaders navigating the future.