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BSNL to buy mobile equipment
14 February 2012
Indian state operator BSNL to order capacity for 14.37 million mobile lines by end of February
Read more:
India
BSNL
Bharat Sanchar Nigam
Alcatel Lucent
Ericsson
Huawei
NSN
ZTE
The head of India’s state-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam plans to order equipment for 14.37 million lines by the end of February 2012, according to the Press Trust of India, reported in Economic Times, quoting chairman and managing director Rakesh Upadhyay.
BSNL has asked for bids for the contract, including planning, financing, engineering, supply, installation, testing, commissioning and annual maintenance.
Upadhyay said: “We are about to finish technical evaluation. Once we are done, we will go for financial bids. The purchase order will be issued by end of this month.”
The company invited bids for 14.37 million lines in July 2011, with bidders required to have a minimum turnover of 80 billion Indian rupees ($1.6 billion) in the previous two years.
Upadhyay said: “All the major vendors and known vendors have expressed their interest. We will come to know about financial estimates only after financial bids are closed.”
Telecom minister Milind Deora indicated that Alcatel Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks and ZTE are among the bidders. GTB
Further reading from Global Telecoms Business:
BSNL to request bids for 15m GSM lines 31 May 2011
India's BSNL in tower sharing talks 11 May 2011
BSNL picks supplier shortlist 13 Dec 2010
BSNL to launch $3.5bn GSM tender 29 Oct 2010
Vendors bid for BSNL contract 04 Oct 2010