BSNL partners Nokia for private 4G service to businesses

State-run BSNL has partnered with telecom gear maker Nokia to offer businesses private 4G services, the two companies said in a joint statement Tuesday. "Nokia and BSNL are working together to implement the next level of industrial automation, leveraging 4G LTE technology to enable greater operational efficiency at Nokia's Chennai plant," it said.

The first project under the partnership has been deployed at Nokia's Chennai plant using 4G connection from BSNL's network. "BSNL has a limited presence in Tamil Nadu with 2100 Mhz band on which it is trialling 4G. The deployment at Chennai factory draws on that network to create a private LTE network that is meant for enterprise/business segment," a spokesperson from Nokia said.

The state-run firm has requested the government to provide an additional spectrum for 4G services. BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava said the implementation of new 4G technology for industrial purpose shows that the solution can be scaled for 5G services as well.

"This network deployment for Industry 4.0 at Nokia's Chennai factory that can be scaled to 5G demonstrates our preparedness to take advantage of new opportunities that will emerge with 5G and IoT in India," Shrivastava said. Working together on this project, Nokia and BSNL are demonstrating the ability to leverage automation across the industries, showing how it can be replicated in sectors such as oil and gas, mining, public safety and disaster management, the statement said.