On June 18, 2025, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) entered the fixed wireless access (FWA) market with a soft launch in Hyderabad. Branded as “Quantum 5G” (Q-5G), the service aims to provide 100 per cent secure, reliable internet connectivity to enterprises, businesses, gated communities and individual homes using indigenously developed 5G technology.
BSNL has developed a SIM-less product for Q-5G on its direct-to-device platform. The customer premises equipment (CPE) installed at the user’s home will auto-authenticate, eliminating the need for a SIM, in contrast to Airtel and Jio’s FWA services, which use SIMs.
BSNL is, therefore, the first Indian operator to launch a production-grade SIM-less 5G service. The stack is claimed to be fully indigenous, with the core, radio access network and CPE designed and integrated by Indian vendors under the Atmanirbhar Bharat programme. This service boasts Gigabit-class speeds. Tests at Hyderabad’s Ameerpet exchange recorded download speeds of 980 Mbps and upload speeds of 140 Mbps, with a latency of less than 10 milliseconds. This makes it ideal for ultra-high definition streaming, cloud gaming and remote work.
The installation is simple, with no wiring and without the need to insert a SIM. A customer only has to place the CPE device somewhere with a 5G signal and switch it on. The lack of wires and fibres also makes it easy to move this device around within the premises where it is installed.
BSNL claims that it can provide 85 per cent coverage within Hyderabad with its existing network. It aims to offer the Q-5G service on a pilot basis across the cities of Bengaluru, Puducherry, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Gwalior and Chandigarh by September 2025, and then nationwide. Initially, it plans to offer two introductory plans, one at Rs 999 per month with speeds of 100 Mbps and the other at Rs 1,499 per month with speeds of 300 Mbps.
While the engineering is impressive, most customers will focus less on the technical details and more on speed, convenience and the overall value compared to Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio’s offerings. Airtel AirFiber, which is marketed as Xtreme, offers a similar 100 Mbps plan at around Rs 899, while Jio FWA offers similarly priced plans with advertised speeds in the 100-150 Mbps range. Both Jio and Airtel also offer lower-priced plans with lower speeds in the 30-40 Mbps range.
A key advantage for Airtel and Jio is that their services are already available nationwide, with a high degree of penetration and uptake. BSNL is still rolling out 4G and has only tested 5G in select pilot locations.
However, BSNL’s top-end Rs 1,499 plan claims higher speeds of 300 Mbps, higher than what either of the private operators currently offer. If paired with low latency, the plan could become quite popular, especially for enterprise users or remote workers. BSNL also plans to offer enterprise-grade network-sliced 5G services tailored for micro, small and medium enterprises and smart manufacturing clusters by using the same standalone 5G core.
Can BSNL leverage its presence in underserved Tier II and III towns and rural areas to drive uptake for the new service? Also, can it provide a quality of service that will satisfy users? It is playing catch-up, and while that is hard, it may not be impossible, provided it can speedily roll out the service. There remains a strong demand for fast internet in rural and semi-urban areas.
This enhanced competition among service providers is certainly good for end-users, and it may galvanise incumbent private players into upgrading their offerings as well.
