3:20 PM -- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) , India's state-run telco, is to issue another $1 billion tender at the end of the month, this time for the development and rollout of a new communications network for the armed forces, according to this Economic Times report.
The tender has been in the offing for a couple of years but came much closer to reality when the defense and communications ministries reached an agreement that would the release 2G and 3G spectrum for commercial use on the basis that the armed forces would get a purpose-built network to meet their needs. (See India's Operators Set for Spectrum Windfall.)
Notably absent from the list of expected bidders is Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. -- given that security concerns appear to have already cost the Chinese vendor a commercial contract with BSNL, its chances of being considered for a defense contract appear to range from zero to absolute zero. (See Huawei Touts $2B Deal From BSNL and Huawei May Lose to ITI in India.)
"Successful equipment vendors will have to manufacture all core components in India, failing which they have to enter into collaborations with state-owned companies such as Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) and BEL to fulfil this obligation, a government official associated with this project told ET. IT majors too will have to share IPR rights for their services with BSNL and other state-owned entities such as C-DAC. "
We have to wait and watch what really comes out in the tender specs.
Is this a tender killer or a real opportunity for local manufacturers ?
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