New era of internet access unveiled with BSNL's Quantum 5G FWA

India has made a bold move to redefine the future of internet connectivity with the quiet but significant launch of BSNL’s Quantum 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) at its Ameerpet Exchange in Hyderabad. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-owned telecom giant, introduced this fibre-grade, SIM-less, fully indigenous internet service delivered via 5G radio technology.

This is no ordinary product launch. Instead, it marks a pivotal moment for India's growing engineering ecosystem, underlining the country's emergence as a credible innovator in the global telecommunications landscape.

Unlike traditional broadband, which typically requires SIM cards, fibre-optic installations, and extensive trenching, BSNL’s Quantum 5G FWA employs a Direct-to-Device SIM-less architecture. The customer premises equipment (CPE) auto-authenticates via BSNL’s secure core network, enabling true plug-and-play functionality, eliminating the need for physical SIMs entirely.

At the launch site in Hyderabad, the service demonstrated impressive performance: downlink speeds of up to 980 Mbps and uplink speeds of 140 Mbps, with latency under 10 milliseconds, figures usually associated with high-end fibre networks.

An innovation produced in India

What sets this achievement apart is its fully indigenous technology stack. As part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative, every component, from the core network and radio units to the end-user devices,has been developed and manufactured by Indian suppliers. BSNL is now the country's first operator to commercially showcase a production-grade, SIM-less 5G FWA service.

“This is the first SIM-free, entirely domestically developed and customised 5G FWA solution for BSNL,” said A Robert J Ravi, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director, at the launch. “It is a testament to the capabilities of Indian engineers in delivering world-class connectivity.”

While private telecom operators in India are largely deploying 5G using foreign-manufactured equipment, BSNL’s approach is notably different, and potentially more scalable. By leveraging India’s existing mobile tower infrastructure, the Quantum FWA offers a high-speed, cost-effective alternative to last-mile fibre deployment, which remains prohibitively expensive and logistically challenging in many parts of the country. In Hyderabad, BSNL's existing gateway configuration already covers 85% of the local population, with no trenching required.

This solution aligns closely with India’s broader strategic goals, including smart city development, rural digital inclusion, and data sovereignty. Historically seen as lagging behind its nimble private-sector counterparts, BSNL is now challenging that narrative. Quantum 5G FWA is not just a new service, it is an engineering statement. A demonstration that India can build cutting-edge telecom infrastructure without excessive reliance on international vendors.

“Hyderabad, with its tech-savvy ecosystem, is the ideal starting point for our next-generation access portfolio,” Ravi added. “We plan to roll out to many more cities and introduce further enhancements in the near future.”

More broadly, Quantum 5G FWA may signal a paradigm shift, from India being a passive consumer of telecom technology to an active inventor and exporter. It holds the potential to inspire a new generation of Indian engineers, instilling confidence in both what is being built today and what lies ahead.