Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has partnered with Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia to roll out 4G VoLTE services in India. Under the network modernization agreement, Nokia will support BSNL to launch of 4G and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services in western and southern regions of the country.
Nokia will deploy the technology in 10 telecom circles in India – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana.
For this, Nokia will deploy its Single Radio Access Network (RAN) software will simplify network installation, allowing BSNL to save operational costs while supporting 2G, 3G and 4G subscribers in a single radio unit. The new VoLTE services will allow BSNL 4G subscribers to experience HD-quality voice and faster call connections.
The network deployment will include Nokia Single RAN software, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Session Border Controller (SBC), CloudBand, Monetization Solution, Performance Manager, IP/MPLS and Wavence microwave technologies.
Commenting on the launch, Anupam Shrivastava, Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL, said, “Hunger for consistent change and innovation provides the fuel to drive us towards excellence. With this in our core, we are striving to offer the best in class network speed, coverage and capacity using the best technology available. We are really proud to have technology partner like NOKIA with whom we are working in South and West Zone of the country, rolling out the latest single RAN Technology and further moving towards 5G, in direction with our aim to offer the best.”
Recently, the state-run telecom operator launched its 4G services in the country with Kerala being the first state. The company has launched the 4G services in five locations of Idukki district, with more cities to follow.
BSNL 4G services are based on the existing spectrum and BSNL users can avail high-speed 4G services with their existing 3G-enabled SIM cards. As per the report, BSNL Chief General Manager P T Mathew says that the service will be commissioned in other districts of Kerala by the end of 2018.