BSNL officially launched 4G services in Visakhapatnam on August 29, with the rollout beginning in the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) cluster. The coverage extends to the RINL administrative area, plant, and residential quarters, with the launch event held at Ukkunagaram. Principal GM of Visakhapatnam Telecom District, Paul William, announced that the Centre has allocated an indigenous 4G/upgradable-to-5G mobile stack under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, funded by the government.
The 4G stack is part of a consortium that includes technology developed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the state-run Telecom research organization C-DoT, and TEJAS. In Visakhapatnam district, 407 BTS sites currently operate on 2G and 3G technologies, all of which will be upgraded to 4G. Additionally, 73 new 4G BTS sites will be deployed in urban areas.
Principal GM (Operations) G. Adam announced a promotional offer for existing customers, allowing them to upgrade their 2G/3G SIMs to 4G free of cost at BSNL customer service centers, franchisees, or retail outlets. Customers can check their current SIM status by texting “sim” to 54040. Currently, 30,155 customers still use 2G/3G SIMs, and BSNL urges them to upgrade to 4G/5G.
Once all 3G BTS sites are upgraded to 4G, the 3G equipment will be phased out. At the 4G launch, RINL CMD Atul Bhatt emphasized the collaboration between BSNL and RINL in implementing the new services, while RINL Director (Personnel) Suresh Chandra Pandey praised BSNL for enhancing service quality. The event was moderated by BSNL DGM M. Satya Prasad, with other BSNL officials and RINL officers in attendance.
