120 tribal villages to get BSNL 4G connectivity in Himachal circle

About 120 villages in tribal areas of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts would be provided 4G connectivity and 450 km of optical fibre cable will be laid in the twin tribal districts of the state, BSNL officials said on Monday.

To provide high-speed digital connectivity on fibre in tribal areas, the Himachal circle of the BSNL is executing a Rs 50 crore state-funded project allotted under Special Assistance to States for CAPEX (capital expenditure) Scheme during the year 2022-23, they added.

Lagging behind Jio and Airtel, the state-run telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would roll out 5G in 2024.

The network upgradation work is progressing very fast. for rolling out 4G in the entire country by 2023. The network is upgradable to 5G and the same would be launched in 2024, said chairman and Managing Director BSNL Pravin Kumar Purwar while talking to the media persons here on Monday.

The endeavour of the BSNL is to increase its market share in the country from 9.9 per cent to 15-20 per cent in the country and there would be 150 per cent increase over current 22 per cent share in Himachal, he said.

The BSNL also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Himachal government to engage the skilled manpower available with technical institutions in the state for speeding up the BSNL fibre rollout.

To provide high speed broad services, the copper wire is being replaced by optical fiber, 1300 operating sites are being technically upgraded while 250-300 new sites are being created for development and better coverage.

The 5G services would be better or at least on par with Jio and Airtel and with increasing use of internet and broadband by customers, the market share of BSNL would go up.

Being an instrument of the government, the BSNL is working in the interest of the country and can’t be totally commercial but spectrum in the 700 MHz band for 5G BSNL would help provide better coverage and speed, he added.

The BSNL also announced the launch of its Over-the-Top (OTT) service Starter Pack in collaboration with Lionsgate, ShemarooMe, Hungama and Epicon. PTI