New Delhi [India], March 28 : The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is currently rolling out 1,00,000 fully indigenous 4G towers under the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, which includes Core technology by C-DOT (a government entity), RAN (telecom towers) by Tejas Networks and System integration by TCS.
Speaking at the Times Now Summit 2025, Union Minister for Communication Jyotiraditya Scindia stated that the government aims to complete the target by June this year, and once the target is achieved, these towers will be switched to 5G.
"Currently, only four countries--China, Finland, Sweden, and South Korea--have companies producing a telecom stack. India is now the fifth country to achieve this with our indigenous 4G telecom stack. BSNL is rolling out 100,000 fully indigenous 4G towers under Atmanirbhar Bharat. This includes: Core technology by C-DOT (a government entity), RAN (telecom towers) by Tejas Networks and System integration by TCS. We aim to complete this by June. Once that is done, we will switch these 100,000 towers to 5G. Simultaneously, we are already working on 6G", Jyotiraditya Scindia said during the event.
Scindia further opened up on BSNL's profits and said that the government has already launched Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite messaging services.
"BSNL is already ahead of the curve. We have launched Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite messaging services. More importantly, after 18 years, BSNL has finally turned profitable. In the October-December quarter, BSNL posted a Rs262 crore net profit, compared to a *Rs1,262 crore loss* in Q3 last year. At the same time, we have cut costs by 18%, leading to a **3x growth in EBITDA, from Rs450 crores to Rs1,500 crores. India remains one of the few countries with four competing telecom operators. While global markets are seeing telecom consolidation, India is experiencing rapid telecom expansion," Scindia stated.
Scindia credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for giving importance to telecom and IT and said if India needs to become a global market leader, these sectors shall always be at the forefront.
"Bharat today is firing on all cylinders. What the industrial revolution was a hundred years ago, today the communication revolution is going to make an exponentially bigger change on that same paradigm. What used to be physical highways are now communication highways, and these communication highways will change every facet of human life over the next decade", Jyotiraditya Scindia said.
"This is why the Prime Minister has placed primary importance on telecom and IT--because if India is to become a global market leader, these sectors must be at the forefront. In 2014, we had 900 million mobile subscribers. Today, we have over 1.2 billion. Back then, we had 250 million people connected to the internet--equivalent to the entire population of the United States. Today, we have 970 million Internet users. In 2014, only 60 million people were on broadband (2GB or more). Today, that number stands at 940 million. The jump has been exponential. India has historically been a services-led communication giant. However, the Prime Minister has made it clear that we must evolve into a telecom product nation. To become a major player in telecom product manufacturing, we need to enter the league of nations that produce telecom stacks", he added.
The Union Minister also informed about government's plans on 6G technology saying that India will lead the world in 6G.
"In late 2022, early 2023, the Prime Minister launched the Bharat 6G Alliance (BG6A). This initiative brings together equipment manufacturers, telecom operators, ISPs, IITs, and academicians to ensure that India contributes at least 10% to the global 6G standards (IMT-3GPP 6G). We have 100 5G test beds, 6G test beds and the 'Bharat 6G Alliance' collaborating with international counterparts from the US, Germany, South Korea, EU, and the UK. We followed the world on 4G. We marched with the world on 5G. But we will lead the world in 6G", Jyotiraditya Scindia said.
The Minister also spoke on satellite communication saying that it only increases the choices available for consumers. He stated that satellite can enable connectivity in remote areas where towers can't be set up.
"To survive, we must always stay ahead of the curve. Satellite technology is here, and as Telecom Minister, I see it as complementary, not just competitive. Satellites provide two key advantages: they enable connectivity in remote areas where we cannot set up towers or lay fiber, and in the event of natural disasters where terrestrial networks fail, satellite communication becomes critical. So, for me, satellite technology expands consumer choice," he said.
Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the in the satellite space the government has granted licenses to Reliance and Bharti Airtel.
"We have moved from GEO to LEO and MEO, which offer lower latency and higher bandwidth. We have already granted licenses to Reliance and Bharti Airtel. Several more companies have applied. As I've said before, our policy is simple: tick the boxes, get spectrum, start operations--India is open for business", he said.