BSNL Unions Urge PM Modi to Mandate Its 4G Usage Across Govt. Departments

Employee unions of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting that he mandate the use of BSNL’s indigenous 4G across all government entities. The request covers all the central and state government departments, including all the PSUs and employees whose mobile expenses are either covered or reimbursed by the government.

In a letter, the members of the Bharatiya Doorsanchar Manch have requested PM Modi to mandate the use of BSNL’s indigenous 4G, which aligns with the vision of the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) Mission.

The chairman of Bharatiya Doorsanchar Manch, Ravi Verma, said,” that the adoption of BSNL’s swadeshi 4G services should be made mandatory for all mobile connections wherever expenditure is reimbursed from public funds, including all central and state government and public sector entities.”

The Unions have argued that mandating it would enhance national security and also protect data sovereignty. “Such a move will strengthen the company’s financial position. They also argued that such a step would accelerate the development and demand of the domestic telecom ecosystem.

Currently, BSNL is the only telecom operator that is rolling out its 4G network through a consortium led by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), along with Tejas Networks and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT). Under the project, the consortium has already deployed more than 1 Lakh 4G sites across the nation, with a plan to add 20,000 BTS in the coming months.