BSNL Mobile

BSNL Mobile is an Indian state-owned telecommunication company of the Government of India. BSNL Mobile operates under the BSNL brand and provides wireless cellular services to B2B, B2C, & B2G segments in India. BSNL Mobile has a pan-India presence with presence in all the 22 telecom circles in India.

As of 30 April 2024, BSNL Mobile has a subscriber base of 88.94 million, making it 4th largest mobile telecommunications network in India and 25th largest mobile telecommunications network in the world.

History
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was incorporated on 15 September 2000. It took over the business of providing telecom services and network management from the erstwhile Central Government Departments of Telecom Services (DTS) and Telecom Operations (DTO), with effect from 1 October 2000 on a going concern basis, in early days it was known as CellOne for GSM mobile services, Excel for Postpaid services. BSNL's network (GSM/GPRS) was launched in late 2002 and in the year 2007, its consumer mobility business was renamed from CellOne to BSNL Mobile. It was the first company that made incoming roaming charges free across the country. BSNL has coverage in almost all major cities and each town and more places are being covered(especially under the 4G saturation project of GOI). BSNL Mobile offers GSM prepaid and postpaid services.

3G
On 27 February 2010, BSNL Mobile launched 3G services on Pan India. BSNL Mobile also has 3G Roaming services in Mumbai & Delhi for other circles subscribers through an agreement with MTNL, This gives BSNL Mobile a 3G presence in all 22 out of 22 circles in India.

4G
BSNL Mobile has started providing 4G services in some telecom circles of India. As a part of a revival package promised by the Indian Government, BSNL is deploying 4G technology in its countrywide network using an indigenous 4G/5G stack developed by TCS & C-DoT led consortium. On 15 July 2023, BSNL launched its beta 4G services in Amritsar, Punjab, after successfully conducting a Proof of Concept (PoC) of the Indian 4G stack equipment across 200 live 4G network sites in Firozpur, Pathankot, Bathinda and Amritsar in India. BSNL will launch PAN INDIA 4G Services very soon by DECEMBER 25th 2025. It has already upgraded all its 4G BTS & ready and locked for the Grand Launch.

VoLTE & HD Calling
BSNL is launching 4G technology with VoLTE (HD Call) with VoWIFI support starting from the city of Punjab in India.

5G
BSNL Mobile is expected to start 5G services soon after the commencement of its much-awaited 4G service.

VoNR
Currently, BSNL is working with its vendor partner to come up with 5G in NSA(non-standalone) mode then BSNL will migrate towards 5G in SA(standalone) mode.

Spectrum frequency holding summary
BSNL owns spectrum in 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz bands across the country.