Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has begin the process to roll out its 4G telecom infrastructure as the company is slated to launch the fourth generation mobile telephony services by March next year.

Skipper Limited, a manufacturer of telecom and railway structures, on Friday (30 December) said that it has bagged a Rs 2,570 crore order from BSNL for the telecom PSU's 4G telecom projects.

"The contract has been awarded by BSNL for supply and erection of ground based telecom towers, infrastructure as a service provider (IaaSP) for supply, installation of Infrastructure Items and subsequent operation and maintenance (O&M) for 5 years, extendable to 5 more years in the uncovered villages of India under 4G saturation projects," Skipper Limited said in a release on Friday.

The total contract value awarded to Skipper under these projects is approximately 2,570 crore to be executed under capex and opex model over 5 years, the company said.

The works are to be executed in the states of Rajasthan (1,350 crore) and Orissa (1,220 crore) and includes development of approximately 3,350 tower location sites, it added.

The telecom sites will be set up to provide 4G connectivity as part of the 4G saturation projects in still uncovered with any sort of mobile communication or are currently having only 2G/3G connectivity.

The project will be executed using the homegrown 4G stack and will be funded through Central government's USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund), which is a Rs 55,000 crores strong cash reserves meant for providing connectivity in rural and remote areas, the company said.

It should be noted that BSNL is the only major telecom firm in the country that is yet to roll out its 4G services even as private telcos have started the progressive roll out of their 5G services.

According to the reports, the launch of BSNL's 4G could stretch to March 2023 and the company will initially start deploying its 4G services in metro cities and then will spread it to other parts of the country.