BSNL to retender, allow Chinese to quote
02-09-2010
Jolt for European, U.S. vendors
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has scrapped its tender for buying GSM gear and has invited fresh bids for supplying equipment for 5.5 million mobile subscribers.
The move is aimed at enabling Chinese vendors to participate in the bidding. The earlier tender had barred Huawei and ZTE from bidding due to concerns raised by security agencies.
This comes after the two Chinese vendors agreed to the security-linked conditions set by the Government for importing telecom gear, including sharing of source codes and opening up their facilities to third party security audits. The Chinese vendors were barred earlier after security agencies expressed concerns over the possible presence of spyware embedded in the equipment.
BSNL employee unions had also raised the issue with the Department of Telecom, saying the ban on BSNL for buying Chinese equipment was discriminatory.
The latest move is good news for Huawei and ZTE, which has not won a BSNL contract for the past few years. The delay in buying equipment is putting pressure on BSNL's network.
From a story in the Hindu
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has scrapped its tender for buying GSM gear and has invited fresh bids for supplying equipment for 5.5 million mobile subscribers.
The move is aimed at enabling Chinese vendors to participate in the bidding. The earlier tender had barred Huawei and ZTE from bidding due to concerns raised by security agencies.
This comes after the two Chinese vendors agreed to the security-linked conditions set by the Government for importing telecom gear, including sharing of source codes and opening up their facilities to third party security audits. The Chinese vendors were barred earlier after security agencies expressed concerns over the possible presence of spyware embedded in the equipment.
BSNL employee unions had also raised the issue with the Department of Telecom, saying the ban on BSNL for buying Chinese equipment was discriminatory.
The latest move is good news for Huawei and ZTE, which has not won a BSNL contract for the past few years. The delay in buying equipment is putting pressure on BSNL's network.
From a story in the Hindu
