The Department of Telecommunications has signed an agreement with ITI Limited and state-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to fund pilot projects under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

DoT, BSNL and ITI Limited will fund the pilot projects of E-band, LTE indigenous technologies, including the integration of 4G/5G prototype with Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) Core, according to a Department of Telecommunications statement.

“The Universal Service Obligation Fund, under its program for induction of new technological developments in the telecom sector in rural and remote areas, is funding 4 pilot projects each of around Rs 10 Crore enabling the development and hardening of these technologies,” it added.

USOF is a Rs 55,000-crore strong reserve meant to provide connectivity in India’s rural and remote areas.

Homegrown telecom companies Astrome technologies, Lekha Wireless Solutions, Resonous Technologies, Signaltron would be executing these projects in partnership with C-DoT and DoT, PSUs BSNL and ITI.

State-driven telecom R&D firm C-DoT is, meanwhile, providing core equipment for BSNL’s 4G network launch. It has said that it could upgrade the network to 5G non-standalone (NSA) by the end of 2022, and to 5G standalone (SA) by 2023.