Pune: BSNL Employees Union Protests Nationwide for 4G and 5G Services
Pune, 17th April 2024: Citizens across the country are calling for BSNL to offer 4G and 5G services, but the company has not yet received the necessary equipment from TCS to provide these services. As a result, BSNL is unable to offer 4G and 5G connectivity to its customers, and there has been a delay from the central government as well. This has prompted the BSNL Employees Union to launch protests nationwide, including in Pune on Tuesday.
A protest was held in front of the BSNL office on Satara Road, organized by the BSNL Employees Union Coordinating Committee. The demonstrators demanded that BSNL be equipped with 4G and 5G technology as soon as possible. MI Jakati, the union’s president in Pune, stated that the central government had allowed only BSNL to use domestically produced 4G equipment as part of the “Self-reliant India” initiative. Meanwhile, other mobile service providers are using 4G devices from companies in China and South Korea.
BSNL reluctantly agreed to partner with TCS to produce 4G equipment, but after three years, TCS has not yet developed these devices. Furthermore, TCS is seeking assistance from China’s ZT Company to develop 4G equipment, which has delayed the process even further.
As a result of the lack of 4G and 5G services, BSNL has lost customers, which has harmed the company. Jakati argued that this situation may lead to the deliberate privatization of BSNL to benefit private companies. He called on the government to act quickly by providing the necessary equipment to BSNL or allowing the company to use Vodafone’s equipment, as Vodafone is a government-owned entity.
Other union members, including Nagesh Kumar Nalavde, Sandeep Gulunjkar, Kishore Gawali, Baban Suryavanshi, and Manjusha Lachke, participated in the movement, while Vikas Kadam served as moderator and Ganesh Bhoj gave the vote of thanks.
