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BSNL's GSM contract now faces pricing issues
By siliconindia
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7,000 per line for 3G equipment. Sources say that the amount quoted for 2G gear is around 3,000. This is only for supplying the radio equipment and does not include IT, software, billing solution or passive infrastructure.
BSNL on the other hand had awarded the previous contract for less than 4,000 (for 2G and 3G), which included all the other components of a cellular infrastructure, including towers and billing software. According to BSNL officials, the vigilance officers have been told that negotiations are being undertaken with Ericsson to arrive at a lower price.
While Ericsson has been short-listed for North and East zones, Chinese player Huawei had been chosen for the South. Industry experts however say that though BSNL is well within its right to negotiate a low price, it may be unfair to compare the price quoted in the current contract with that of the previous phases, since there are a lot of differences in the specifications.
BSNL has sought more than double the traffic capacity in the current phase as it is looking to expand its network for the future. The vendors are required to offer maintenance of the network for seven years in this project while it was only three years in the previous one. Additionally the telecom operator has sought the replacement of its network rolled out till 2007, which adds to the cost of the vendor.
BSNL's project got stuck when Nokia Siemens approached the High Court of Punjab and Haryana; and the High Court of Andhra Pradesh seeking a direction against BSNL's decision to disqualify its offer. Subsequently the Andhra Pradesh High Court has given a stay on the contract for South zone.