We missed this earlier: BSNL is looking to roll out its 4G services in 18-24 months, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) told Parliament earlier this week. The state-owned telco has invited an Expression of Interest (EoI) on January 1, 2021 for registration and proof of concept from Indian companies interested in participating in BSNL's upcoming 4G tender, the ministry said. The question was posed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in the Lok Sabha. Tharoor wanted to know if the government plans to upgrade BSNL equipment sourced from China that is currently in use for 2G and 3G services. More than half of equipment used by BSNL was acquired by controversial Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, according to a Parliamentary answer from September 2020. Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State, MEITY did not answer the question directly, and instead said that BSNL would follow all applicable rules of the government for procurement. While this wasn't mentioned in the answer, earlier this month the Department of Telecommunications had amended the Unified Access Service License to prevent telcos from obtaining equipment from untrustworthy vendors. This is largely expected to target Chinese companies. "The government through the Designated Authority [the National Cyber Security Coordinator] will have the right to impose conditions for procurement of Telecommunication Equipment on grounds of Defence of India, or matters directly or indirectly related thereto, for national security," the order had said. Full text of question and answer (March 17) DR. SHASHI THAROOR: Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be…
