State-run telecom provider BSNL has started setting up a 4G network at 200 sites and will go live in two weeks, union information technology and communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said, adding the network will be upgraded to 5G by November-December.
"The 4G-5G telecom stack we have developed in India. That stack deployment started with BSNL. Between Chandigarh and Dehradun, 200 sites installations have been done and within the next maximum of two weeks, it will go live," Vaishnaw said.
Tata Consultancy Services and ITI Limited have been awarded an advance purchase order worth over Rs 19,000 crore for BSNL's 4G network deployment.
"The speed at which BSNL will deploy, you will be surprised. After testing for three months, we will be doing 200 sites a day. That is the average at which we will go. BSNL network will work initially like 4G. Very soon, somewhere around November- December, with a very small software adjustment this will become 5G," Vaishnaw said.
The minister along with Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami commissioned the 2,00,000th site in Gangotri.
"Today practically every minute one 5G site is getting activated. The world is surprised. It is a matter of pride for us that the 2,00,000th site has been installed in Chardham," Vaishnaw said.
"Today, devotees of Chardham have received a present in the form of a 5G site. Now, our border area will also get wrapped up with mobile connectivity. The dream that we saw of high-speed connectivity in the hilly area of Uttarakhand has been fulfilled today," Dhami said.
According to him, the launch of high-speed service will improve relief and disaster management, surveillance, and the economy.
The days of signing technology transfers were over, Vaishnaw said. "Today India has become a technology exporter," he said.
Five months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services on October 1, the first 1 lakh 5G sites got operational. Within three months, the next one lakh sites will be launched.
"We had set a target to have around 1.5 lakh sites by December 31, 2023. Already 2 lakh sites have been completed, I feel by December 31, it should be more than 3 lakh sites," Vaishnaw said.
He said that countries like the US have started deploying made-in-India telecom technologies.
(With Inputs from agencies)
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