BSNL likely to award Rs 1,000 crore 3-yr OTN equipment contract to Nokia

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is going to reward a multi-year Rs 1,000-crore purchase order to Nokia for the supply of optical transport network (OTN) equipment and deployment through a local system integrator, The Economic Times (ET) has reported. People aware of the development told the newspaper that the financial bids for the BSNL contract are being evaluated, and the “advance purchase order” (APO) is likely to be issued shortly.

Other companies that have applied for the BSNL contract include domestic vendors like United Telecoms (UTL) and Tata Group company, Tejas Networks, the ET report said.

The report said that the bid submitted by indigenous telecom gear maker Texas was about 21 per cent higher, which was beyond the range of relaxation offered under the preference to Make in India (PMI) framework, which has been set at 20 per cent to receive a 50 per cent of the order.

Previously, Tata-owned Texas Networks had submitted its bid but it was cancelled as the company was the single bidder. BSNL had to re-issue the tender in June this year, the ET report said.

The BSNL contract includes the supply, installation, and commission of the optical transport network on the pan-India level. The contract also has a provision for three-year operation and maintenance (O&M) services and a comprehensive annual maintenance contract (AMC) for eight years.

The ET report said that domestic telecom equipment manufacturers expressed their disappointment through an industry body. The industry body has written a letter to the telecom minister Ashiwni Vaishnaw and invited his intervention.

Director General of Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (Voice), Rakesh Kumar Bhatnagar, told The Economic Times (ET), “This is a very unfortunate situation and discourages Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). BSNL has disqualified United Telecoms (UTL) and Tejas Networks on shoddy grounds as well as tweaked the original terms and conditions to suit foreign companies.”