Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that the government was committed to providing 4G spectrum to state-owned telecommunications service providers BSNL and MTNL.
MTNL operates in Delhi and Mumbai while BSNL covers the remaining parts of the country, mostly the hinterlands.
''BSNL and MTNL are strategic assets of the government. The government is committed to providing 4G spectrum to them,'' said Mr Prasad while responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour.
The Minister said for healthy competition, privatisation is important, adding that MTNL and BSNL did not get 4G spectrum earlier, but the government will make it available now.
He maintained that BSNL has served the nation especially during difficult times of natural calamities, and provides affordable services throughout India.
He informed the House that around 92,000 employees have accepted the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, which closed on Tuesday. This is expected to save about Rs 8,800 crore annually in salary bills for the debt-laden telecom companies.
As far as 5G spectrum is concerned, the Minister said, it was an evolving scenario.
Regarding the implementation of norms pertaining to adverse affects of Electromagnetic Field Radiation from Base Transreceiver Stations, Mr Prasad said, ''In India, norms for exposure limit for Radio Frequency Field (Base Station Emissions) have been fixed ten times more stringent than the safe limits prescribed by the International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection and recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The government has given a green signal to the merger of two ailing telecom companies--MTNL and BSNL-- along with the much-awaited 4G spectrum allocation to the two companies.
The Government will provide 4G spectrum on an administrative allocation basis.