NEW DELHI: Finnish Nokia<\/a> and Chinese ZTE<\/a>, the two principal partners of state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL<\/a>), are set to lose fourth-generation or 4G<\/a> network migration and new deployment business to public and private system integrators which have started to rope in homegrown vendors in line with Centre's ambitious Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative.
Both state-run Telecommunications Consultants India (TCIL) and Indian Telephone Industries (ITIL), and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tech Mahindra, the private sector system integrators are eying to bid for the BSNL's much-awaited 4G gear supply, are in 'advanced discussions' with multiple domestic stakeholders, including gear makers and innovative startups as consortium partners to build an indiginous next-generation telecom infrastructure.
\"We are looking this (BSNL deployment) as a potential opportunity, and will duly submit our proposals as and when the telco comes out with a tender document, and are already in talks with a few local equipment makers to board them for the supply, deployment and maintenance of BSNL's 4G network,\" Rajiv Gupta, chairman, TCIL told ETTelecom.
Domestic vendors, however, continue to worry since they say that a move to a system integrator-driven model has never been tested previously in any of the known telecom deployment initiatives, and fear that such IT services giants, in an ambition to procure 'cost-effective' equipment may knock the Chinese vendors, and re-route their supplies from other east Asian countries in defiance to country's Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) encouraged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In order to expand its existing network to deliver 4G-based services, the state-owned telco is seeking to deploy as many as 7,000 new 5G-ready sites on TDD while aiming to upgrade 49,300 2G and 3G sites on FDD platform. BSNL had to scrap the request for proposal (RFP), it floated on March 23 under phase- IX expansion program following stiff opposition from the local telecom firms and suppliers due to alleged restrictive terms.
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