Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia says BSNL’s 4G delay due to indigenous tech bet

New Delhi: The delay in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)’s 4G rollout was due to India’s decision to develop an indigenous technology stack instead of procuring foreign equipment, communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. Despite the delay, BSNL has built and deployed a proprietary stack in 22 months, he said.

Around 98,000 towers are currently radiating 4G signals using the homegrown technology, with another 50,000-60,000 towers planned. This will be followed by a transition to 5G, he added. “The reason why the rollout of 4G has taken time is because we chose to develop our own stack. Countries across the world haven’t done it. India did it in 22 months,” Scindia said at the Times Now Summit.