BSNL joins hands with ZTE, seeks approval on 700MHz band to launch 5G

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has forged an alliance with ZTE, following a similar partnership with Finnish firm Nokia for 5G services, revealed the latest reports.

According to the reports, BSNL plans to soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ZTE under the “5G and beyond” programme, part of which the latter will provide most recent technological updates and exchange ideas with the telecom major.

BSNL has also written to the Department of Telecom (DoT) to allocate airwaves in the 700MHz band for rolling out 4G services. It expects to get the government’s approval soon on proposal for using airwaves in 700MHz band for offering 4G services, and 5G services in the future.

“Six slots of 5 MHz are already available in the 700MHz band and we have asked for a slot to be allocated to us. We are looking at it also for offering ultra-high speed 5G services in the future,” Chairman Anupam Shrivastava said in a statement.

“For 5G services in rural and dense urban areas, 700MHz, sub-700MHz and unlicensed bands such as 2.5 GHz and 5.2 GHz will be used for Internet of Things (IoT) services in India,” he added.

Commenting on forming alliance with ZTE, he revealed, “The alliance (with ZTE) will be non-commercial with no obligations and based on knowledge sharing on what is happening worldwide.”

Tags: BSNL, ZTE, bharat sanchar nigam ltd, 5g services, Chairman Anupam Shrivastava, Internet of Things, iot