iWorld
Milestone: 50,000 indigenous 4G sites now operational under ANB
Mumbai: In a major boost to India’s connectivity landscape, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched over 50,000 indigenous 4G sites nationwide, marking a transformative stride in the government’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat (ANB) initiative. Developed in partnership with leading Indian tech entities Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tejas Networks, the Centre for development of telematics (C-DOT), and ITI Ltd., BSNL’s expansive 4G network exemplifies India’s “Poorn Swadeshi” approach, relying entirely on homegrown technology.
With more than 41,000 of these sites now active, BSNL is significantly accelerating India’s digital outreach. As of 29 October 2024, the rollout includes 36,747 sites under the Phase IX.2 project and 5,000 additional sites under the 4G Saturation Project, financed by the Digital Bharat Nidhi Fund, previously the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). BSNL’s current momentum underscores a larger goal to establish over 1,00,000 4G sites across India, embodying the commitment to fully indigenous technological expansion.
Earlier this year, BSNL activated 15,000 4G sites as of July, 2024. In the past three months alone, the company successfully added over 25,000 new sites, a robust demonstration of Swadeshi technology’s power and BSNL’s dedication to providing reliable, high-speed connectivity across the nation.
eNews
Barc India, Nielsen launch Barc | Nielsen One Ads, a unified cross-media ad measurement tool
JioHotstar to deploy cross-screen measurement during T20 World Cup 2026
MUMBAI: Broadcast Audience Research Council India and Nielsen have joined forces to launch Barc | Nielsen One Ads, a cross-media measurement system designed to give advertisers a unified view of advertising performance across television and digital platforms.
The new framework combines Barc India’s linear television viewership data with digital audience measurement from Nielsen One Ads. The result is a single dataset that measures advertising reach and frequency across four screens: linear tv, connected tv, mobile and computer, while removing duplicated audiences across devices.
The move comes as India’s media landscape grows increasingly fragmented, with advertisers struggling to reconcile data from multiple platforms. The joint system aims to provide a single, deduplicated picture of campaign performance and audience reach.
“This marks a defining moment for cross-media ad measurement in India,” said Barc India chief executive Nakul Chopra. “Barc | Nielsen One Ads brings together television and digital screens in a unified system, enabling advertisers to understand their true reach and incremental impact across the entire media ecosystem.”
Nielsen chief product officer Akhil Parekh, said the collaboration addresses a long-standing challenge for advertisers. “Brands have had to stitch together fragmented data to understand how campaigns perform. A single, deduplicated view across screens is something the industry has needed for years.”
The first deployment will take place on JioHotstar, which will use the system to measure advertising during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Barc India said the framework could expand to include more broadcasters and platforms if industry demand grows.
Among the system’s key features are unified four-screen reporting, advanced reach deduplication to eliminate duplicate viewers across devices, and detailed metrics including average frequency, gross rating points and demographic performance.
