Jio and Airtel have already launched 5G services across vast areas of India. Even Vodafone Idea (Vi) has made significant progress in rolling out its 5G network. However, state-owned telecom company BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has struggled not only with 5G but also in launching 4G services in most parts of the country.

When is BSNL 5G Coming?

Last year, BSNL announced its plans to launch 4G services and introduce 5G services in India soon. Millions of customers have been eagerly waiting for BSNL’s 5G rollout. Now, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has confirmed that BSNL will begin its efforts to deploy 5G services starting in June this year.

However, there is still no official confirmation on when the 5G services will be commercially available. According to the minister, around one lakh (100,000) 4G network installations will be completed across India in the coming months. So far, over 89,000 4G networks have already been set up. Once the remaining towers are installed by May-June, they will be upgraded to 5G.

Sources suggest that upgrading these one lakh 4G towers to 5G could take another year. Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also stated that with some software and hardware upgrades, these 4G networks will become compatible with BSNL’s 5G services.

At the same time, Scindia highlighted that India is among the few countries in the world that have developed 4G and 5G technology entirely using indigenous technology. He also revealed that, based on complaints received on the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ portal, 1.75 crore (17.5 million) fake mobile connections have been disconnected in the past few months. Additionally, over 1.5 lakh (150,000) WhatsApp groups have also been shut down.