State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has signalled that its long-delayed path to 5G now runs directly through the accelerating deployment of its 4G network, which the operator says is steadily gaining ground across India.

The report from TelecomTalk frames the development as a turning point for an operator that has spent years watching private rivals Jio and Airtel race ahead with pan-Indian 5G launches while BSNL was still struggling to deliver basic 4G service. According to the report, BSNL's 4G footprint is now expanding, and the operator sees that expansion as the essential foundation for a subsequent 5G upgrade.

Why does 4G come first for BSNL?

The sequencing is not a preference but a structural reality. BSNL's core and radio infrastructure must reach nationwide 4G coverage before the operator can realistically layer 5G on top of it. The TelecomTalk report indicates that as the 4G network gains ground, the distance between BSNL and a commercial 5G launch shortens.

That logic reflects how non-standalone and eventually standalone 5G architectures are built: operators typically anchor next-generation coverage on an established 4G base of sites, backhaul and spectrum. For BSNL, each new 4G site is therefore also a potential 5G site in waiting.

How far behind the private operators is BSNL?

The gap remains substantial. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have already rolled out 5G across India using spectrum acquired in the 2022 auction, while Vodafone Idea and BSNL have yet to launch commercial 5G. BSNL's struggle to even complete 4G deployment has been the clearest measure of its competitive disadvantage.

The TelecomTalk report does not present the 4G expansion as closing that gap. It presents it as evidence that BSNL is finally moving — moving closer to 5G as the 4G build gathers momentum.

What does this mean commercially?

For subscribers, a functioning 4G network is the immediate benefit. BSNL's customer base has long been served by legacy 2G and 3G technology in many circles, which has driven churn toward private operators offering 4G and 5G. A maturing 4G network gives BSNL a credible retention argument for price-sensitive users.

For the Indian government, BSNL's progress carries policy weight. The operator is wholly state-owned, and its survival as a third or fourth credible competitor in the market depends on network parity. A BSNL that completes 4G and then moves to 5G sustains the competitive structure regulators have pushed to preserve.

For vendors, BSNL's 4G deployment has been a significant domestic contract, and the prospect of a follow-on 5G phase extends the commercial opportunity.

Vendor marketing versus deployment reality

Operators and their equipment suppliers routinely describe in-progress builds as transformative. The concrete fact in the TelecomTalk report is narrower and more verifiable: BSNL's 4G network is gaining ground, and that progress moves the operator closer to 5G. There is no claim in the report of a firm commercial 5G launch date, subscriber figures or throughput results.

That distinction matters. "Closer to 5G" is a statement of trajectory, not a launch announcement. The milestones that would confirm real progress — completed nationwide 4G coverage, a defined 5G spectrum position, and a dated commercial launch plan — remain ahead.

What comes next?

The immediate benchmark is the completion of BSNL's 4G rollout. Once that foundation is in place, the operator can turn to 5G, with the report indicating the 5G move is now within reach as the 4G build advances. For India's telecom market, the pace of that execution will determine whether BSNL re-establishes itself as a genuine competitor or remains a marginal player in the 5G era.