BSNL plans to install over 1 lakh towers to provide 4G across India

State-owned telecom operator BSNL is planning to install
about 1.12 lakh towers to roll out its 4G telecom network across India, Telecom
Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

During Question Hour, the minister said, “I am happy
to inform you that the 4G telecom network is ready for roll out soon and it is
developed in India by Indian engineers and scientists. Our development of a 4G
network is being appreciated worldwide and it has a core network, radio network
with full telecom equipment.”

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BSNL is in the process of buying 6,000 towers immediately
and then 6,000 more and then 1 lakh to be installed across the country to
provide a 4G network.

Vaishnaw said that 5G technology is being developed
simultaneously and will be ready within a few months.

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Asked about the availability of 4G internet service in
trains, he said internet connection inside trains will be available only when
5G networks are rolled out because communications get disrupted with 4G
technology in trains running at speeds of 100 km per hour.

As of February 1,
2022, Telecom Service Providers have fiberized their Base Transceiver Stations
(BTSs) installed on mobile towers, and there are 7,93,551 BTS connected by
optical fibre in the country.

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BTS for mobile communications belong to Telecom Service
Providers (TSPs) and the decision to connect them through fibre or other means,
including microwave, is taken by the TSPs based on a variety of
techno-commercial considerations, including the network capacity necessary at a
specific location.

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The major obstacle in fiberisation of telecom towers, as
reported by TSPs, are high charges, complex process and delays in getting Right
of Way (ROW) permissions, he said.