Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said high-speed 5G services of State-owned BSNL will be launched by April 2024.
Addressing the press conference Vaishnaw said BSNL does not have a legacy network. After Jio launched 5G services in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack BSNL will do so.
“So there was a big advantage for BSNL as the entire network we are designing is in a way that it can be rapidly upgraded from 4G to 5G. That cycle will be very fast,” Vaishnaw said.
“Entire Odisha will be covered by 5G services in 2 years. Today, 5G services have been launched in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack,” the telecom minister Vaishnaw said.
Meanwhile, to strengthen the telecom connectivity in the state the central government has allocated Rs 5,600.
Earlier in the day in Odisha 100 telecom towers for 4G services covering 100 odd villages has been launched.
Talking about Vodafone Idea’s (VIL) debt burden of over Rs 2 lakh crore Vaishnaw said, “Vodafone (Idea) has many requirements. It has a particular requirement for capital. How much capital, and who will infuse? All those things are under discussion at this point in time.”
However, at a par value of Rs 10 per share, Vodafone India had offered a stake to the government.
“The responsibility of capital has to come from various sources. The company just doesn’t require conversion. It requires capital. All those things are a complex issue,” Vaishnaw said.