Kolkata: Skipper Limited, a producer of telecom and railway structures, has received a Rs 2,570 crore order from BSNL for the telecom PSU's 4G telecom projects.

"The contract has been awarded by BSNL for the supply and erection of ground-based telecom towers, infrastructure as a service provider (IaaSP) for the supply, installation of Infrastructure Items, and subsequent operation and maintenance (O&M) for 5 years, extendable to 5 more years in the uncovered villages of India under 4G saturation projects," Skipper Limited said in a Friday release.

According to the company, the total contract value given to Skipper under these projects is roughly 2,570 crore, which will be completed on a capex and opex model over a 5-year period.

As part of the 4G saturation initiatives, telecom sites will be built up to give 4G connection in areas that are currently without any kind of mobile communication or have only 2G/3G access.

The project will be carried out using a local 4G stack and will be supported by the Central Government's USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund), which is a Rs 55,000 crore cash reserve earmarked for delivering connectivity in rural and distant regions, according to the business.

It should be noted that BSNL is the only major telecom business in the country that has yet to roll out 4G services, despite the fact that private telcos have begun to gradually roll out 5G services.

However, BSNL's 4G roll out might be delayed until March 2023, with the business initially implementing its 4G services in major areas before expanding to other regions of the nation.

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