BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Railways, Communication and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday announced that BSNL would launch its 5G service by April 2024.
Speaking at the 5G roll out event organised at SOA University here, the minister said the Centre has infused around Rs 1.6 lakh crore to revive the state-run telecom provider, which will emerge as a strong entity in the telecom sector soon.
"The complete roll out of 4G service by BSNL across the country is expected by the end of this year. Since BSNL does not have legacy network, the 4G towers can be upgraded to 5G very fast. There will be no issues in faster roll out of 5G service by BSNL in India," he observed.
Vaishnaw and Union Minister for Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan launched the much awaited 5G service in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
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The service will now be provided by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in the state in the first phase. The operators have installed 510 base transceiver stations (BTS) towers, including 410 by Jio, to provide the service.
The 5G service will be available in eight cities and towns, including Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Puri, Balasore and Angul by March this year and the 5G network will cover entire Odisha by December 2024.
Vaishnaw said the fifth-generation cellular technology will bring a revolution at the grassroots level as it will not only be available for cell phone users, but also for many public services like health and education.
"The Narendra Modi government has sanctioned Rs 5600 crore for setting up 5000 mobile towers in around 7000 unconnected villages in Odisha. The towers will be installed by August 15, 2024. The state has also been allocated Rs 1080 crore for laying of fibre optics for high speed broadband service under the Bharat Net project," he said.
The union ministers also inaugurated 100 mobile towers set up in Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Rayagada districts.
Odisha was among the states included in the phase-one roll out of 5G service.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the service at four places in the country including the SLS Memorial Residential School at Pahadpur, the native village of President Droupadi Murmu in the Mayurbhanj district.
Addressing the gathering, Pradhan said the roll out of 5G service is a breakthrough that will usher in infinite possibilities, help realise PM Narendra Modi's vision of Purvodaya and pave the way for a new era in Odisha.
"From call drop to high speed 5G service, the country has experienced a revolutionary change in the telecom sector in the last few years. It has been possible only due to the auction of spectrums in a transparent manner. Though the first phase roll out will come to an end in March, Odisha got the service in the beginning of the year," he added.