BSNL to scrap 5.5-million GSM tender

State-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has decided to cancel its existing tender for 5.5 million GSM lines and invite new bids, to include Chinese telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE.

In June, BSNL had invited bids for the tender from vendors barring the Chinese. The government had disallowed it from purchasing equipment from Chinese companies due to security reasons.

The tender is estimated to be around Rs 2,000 crore. BSNL has plans to add 3.37 million GSM lines in the north region and 2.13 million in the east, according to its website.

It had got bids from Nokia Siemens Networks, Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson in the cancelled tender.

The decision came after the government said BSNL was now allowed to procure from Chinese companies, too, following amendments in the licence conditions to address security concerns.

BSNL had earlier cancelled a 93-million line tender worth Rs 35,000 crore amidst controversies that the bidding process lacked competition and the capacity addition was too high for it to handle. The issue was referred to a committee headed by Sam Pitroda, the Prime Minister’s advisor, after a number of controversies.

Due to scrapping of that tender, BSNL was been facing severe shortage in capacity. It market share has slipped to12 per cent. BSNL employee unions had also raised the issue with the Department of Telecommunications last week. The unions had said the ban on buying equipment from Chinese vendors was discriminatory, as private players were allowed to do so.