In News:

• In a significant step toward technological self-reliance, the Prime Minister of India launched Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL)fully indigenous 4G network stack and commissioned around 98,000 mobile towers nationwide.
• With this, India becomes the fifth country globally—after Denmark, Sweden, South Korea, and China—to design and deploy its own telecom stack, strengthening the Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India missions.

About BSNL’s Swadeshi 4G Network Stack

The Swadeshi 4G network stack is India’s first fully indigenous end-to-end telecom system, integrating both hardware and software components. It is a cloud-native, software-driven, and 5G-ready architecture developed under the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Institutions Involved

• Core Network: Developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).
• Radio Access Network (RAN): Designed by Tejas Networks.
• Integration & Deployment: Managed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
• Implementation: Carried out by BSNL, with government support through the Digital Bharat Nidhi programme.

Key Features

• Fully Indigenous: Entirely built with Indian technology and manufacturing.
• Cloud-Native & Software-Driven: Enables seamless upgrades and efficient resource use.
• Future-Ready: Designed for smooth transition to 5G and later 6G without hardware overhauls.
• Green Infrastructure: Towers are solar-powered, making it India’s largest cluster of sustainable telecom sites.
• Applications Supported: Digital payments, e-governance, telemedicine, online education, precision farming, and more.

Implementation Highlights

• Infrastructure Rollout:
  • Commissioned ~98,000 mobile towers, including 92,600 4G-enabled sites, built at a cost of approximately ?37,000 crore.
  • Deployed across multiple states — Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam, Gujarat, and Bihar.
• Connectivity Expansion:
  • Around 29,000 villages have already been connected under the 4G Saturation Project.
  • The next phase will connect 26,700 unserved villages, including 2,472 in Odisha, covering border, tribal, and left-wing extremism-affected regions.
  • Expected to serve over 2 million new subscribers.

Significance

1. Strategic Autonomy & National Security: The project enhances India’s strategic independence in critical digital infrastructure by reducing reliance on foreign telecom vendors. This bolsters cybersecurity and ensures data sovereignty—a crucial factor for national security.

2. Economic Growth & Job Creation: The indigenous 4G rollout boosts domestic manufacturing, R&D investment, and employment across the telecom and electronics sectors. It supports Make in India and promotes export competitiveness in telecom technology.

3. Digital Inclusion: By connecting remote, border, and tribal areas, the project narrows the digital divide, empowering rural communities with e-governance services, online education, digital payments, and telehealth access.

4. Green and Sustainable Infrastructure: With the inclusion of solar-powered telecom sites, the initiative promotes environmentally sustainable growth, aligning with India’s Net Zero ambitions.

5. Future-Ready Ecosystem: The indigenous stack’s 5G-ready architecture provides a foundation for next-generation connectivity, supporting AI, IoT, smart agriculture, autonomous mobility, and industrial automation applications.