NEW DELHI: In one of the country’s biggest single-vendor telecom order, Tata Group companies TCS and Tejas Networks are all set to bag the over Rs 30,000 crore BSNLMTNL 4G network infrastructure tender as well as other additional central government-funded projects, marking the re-entry of the diversified group in the big league of telecom business.
While Rs 26,821 crore will be for installing one lakh towers for BSNL-MTNL 4G network, the rest of the order will be for installation of an additional 25,000 towers for various government-funded projects in left-wing extremism (LWE) areas, Lakshadweep islands, and 4G saturation projects.
The order has been in the works for the last nearly two years. It is being built on the plank of creating an Atmanirbhar 4G technology stack and the TCS-led consortium also includes state-owned CDOT, which will provide locally-developed core for the network, sources told TOI. The TCS consortium has already cleared the proof of concept (PoC) for the project, making it the “single vendor” that is eligible for the tender now (some reservation quota has been made here for ITI).
The government had also seen interest from other vendors such as those led by HFCL (partners Pertsol and Mavenir), L&T (partners Pertsol and Mavenir), Tech Mahindra(partners Pertsol and Sterlite). But they had failed to submit proof of concept (PoC). So, they were dropped out of the process in January this year.
“As per the eligibility conditions of the Expression of Interest (EoI), a successful PoC completion certificate is required to be submitted by the bidder for participation in the tender,” an internal note prepared by BSNL for its board meeting last month said.
The BSNL board has now approved the terms and conditions of the tender, as well as the total cost, and has sought an approval of the group of ministers (GoM) before work begins. A spokesperson for TCS said, “As per policy, we do not comment on market speculation. ” Questions sent to BSNL spokesperson remained unanswered. Sources said total value of the tender has been increased from previous estimates after the Tata group pointed out to strong changes in the exchange rate and inflationary pressures.
An amount of Rs 1,500 crore will also be given out to the vendors on furnishing of a bank guarantee which is equal to 110% of the advance. The TCS-Tejas-CDOT consortium will now be developing the entire 4G network of BSNL and MTNL indigenously, this being the first instance where a homegrown initiative will match the scale, sophistication, and standards of global giants such as Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, and Samsung.
While Rs 26,821 crore will be for installing one lakh towers for BSNL-MTNL 4G network, the rest of the order will be for installation of an additional 25,000 towers for various government-funded projects in left-wing extremism (LWE) areas, Lakshadweep islands, and 4G saturation projects.
The order has been in the works for the last nearly two years. It is being built on the plank of creating an Atmanirbhar 4G technology stack and the TCS-led consortium also includes state-owned CDOT, which will provide locally-developed core for the network, sources told TOI. The TCS consortium has already cleared the proof of concept (PoC) for the project, making it the “single vendor” that is eligible for the tender now (some reservation quota has been made here for ITI).
The government had also seen interest from other vendors such as those led by HFCL (partners Pertsol and Mavenir), L&T (partners Pertsol and Mavenir), Tech Mahindra(partners Pertsol and Sterlite). But they had failed to submit proof of concept (PoC). So, they were dropped out of the process in January this year.
“As per the eligibility conditions of the Expression of Interest (EoI), a successful PoC completion certificate is required to be submitted by the bidder for participation in the tender,” an internal note prepared by BSNL for its board meeting last month said.
The BSNL board has now approved the terms and conditions of the tender, as well as the total cost, and has sought an approval of the group of ministers (GoM) before work begins. A spokesperson for TCS said, “As per policy, we do not comment on market speculation. ” Questions sent to BSNL spokesperson remained unanswered. Sources said total value of the tender has been increased from previous estimates after the Tata group pointed out to strong changes in the exchange rate and inflationary pressures.
An amount of Rs 1,500 crore will also be given out to the vendors on furnishing of a bank guarantee which is equal to 110% of the advance. The TCS-Tejas-CDOT consortium will now be developing the entire 4G network of BSNL and MTNL indigenously, this being the first instance where a homegrown initiative will match the scale, sophistication, and standards of global giants such as Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, and Samsung.
