Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is gearing up to launch its commercial 4G services in India. Ahead of the anticipated introduction, the state-owned telecommunications provider has unveiled a new logo which showcases the company’s three key goals: to provide services securely, affordably, and reliably. It has also introduced seven new services including spam protection measures, a national Wi-Fi roaming service, a fibre-based intranet TV service, and a direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity solution.
Notably, this development comes after BSNL introduced a new 4G and 5G-ready over-the-air (OTA) and Universal SIM (USIM) platform in August, in anticipation of the network expansion.
BSNL Updates Logo, Introduces Features
BSNL introduced its new logo at an event held at its headquarters in New Delhi. The event was graced by Jyotiraditya Scindia (Union Minister of Communications), Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani (Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications) and Neeraj Mittal (Secretary Department of Telecommunications).
In addition to the new logo, the telecom provider also unveiled seven new services on offer. It announced a new spam protection measure which is claimed to automatically filter out malicious SMS and phishing attempts without the need of alerting the consumer.
A Wi-Fi roaming service for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) consumers has been introduced. The company claims it will provide customers with high-speed internet access at BSNL hotspots, minimising their data cost. It is also expanding TV services with the rollout of a fibre-based intranet TV service offering over 500 live channels and a Pay TV facility. BSNL says that the data used for TV streaming will not be deducted from the FTTH pack.
The telecom provider is also making it easy to get new connections or upgrade them, courtesy of new Any Time SIM (ATM) kiosks. It will allow users to purchase, replace, upgrade or port their SIM cards at any time, taking advantage of QR-enabled UPI payments and multi-lingual capability.
BSNL is also converging satellite and terrestrial mobile networks with its new D2D service. This facility is said to become useful for enabling UPI payments in emergencies and isolated regions. It is also rolling out an encrypted communications platform for government and relief agencies which may come in use in times of crisis. This service will leverage balloon-based and drone-based systems to widen the coverage in disaster-struck areas.
The telecom provider has also announced a partnership with C-DAC for the introduction of a private 5G network for mining services. It will enable artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT applications in underground and opencast mines. The high-speed, low latency connectivity is claimed to benefit safety analytics, real-time control of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), remote maintenance courtesy of augmented reality (AR), and fleet tracking and optimisation.
