RailTel, the telecom arm of the national transporter, floated the tender which was opened on October 18, but has not yet been awarded. Apart from Reliance Jio, other bidders are Vodafone-Idea, Airtel and state-owned BSNL.
indian railwaysSome bidders have claimed that Reliance Jio, which is the lowest bidder, has violated a tender condition.
Indian Railways move to award a telecom major the contract for 3.78 lakh mobile phone connections of its employees has run into a rough patch. According to an IE report, some bidders have claimed that Reliance Jio, which is the lowest bidder, has violated a tender condition. RailTel, the telecom arm of the national transporter, floated the tender which was opened on October 18, but has not yet been awarded. Apart from Reliance Jio, other bidders are Vodafone-Idea, Airtel and state-owned BSNL. The report said that a new contentious clause has been introduced in the tender process this time, which stipulates that the rates across various plans will not vary more than 50% of the minimum data rates stated in any of the plan.
According to sources quoted in the report, a couple of bidders have alleged that while this condition restricted their pricing offer, the same does not seem to have been applied on Reliance Jio. However, the company has denied this allegation. Indian Railways identified four plans from telecom companies in order to distribute them among its staff and officers across the country. Among total users, the senior-most section, which comprises 2% of them is to get a data plan of 60 gigabytes (GB) per month. The next section, comprising 26% users will get a 45 GB plan, while the largest section of 72% users will be provided with a 30 GB data pack. In all plans, calls are to be free. In addition to these, there is also a fourth plan, which is meant for only for 7,200 users and will be for operational purposes using SMSes only.
The report further said that the second lowest financial bid was submitted by Airtel of Rs 3.37 crore per month excluding taxes. On the other hand, Reliance Jio’s offer was for Rs 2.92 crore per month. According to sources in RailTel, who were quoted in the report, Airtel has highlighted the fact that the top plan of Jio for 60 GB data, which is being offered for Rs 125, is costlier by 86% than its 30 GB plan, which is offered for Rs 67 per month.
Industry sources were quoted saying that the two companies are interpreting the language of the clause differently. According to them, while Reliance Jio is seeing minimum data rates as the rate per GB, the Airtel is viewing the minimum data rate as the lowest rate offered for total data in the plan. For Rs 124, Airtel has offered data plan of 60 GB data plan, which is a rupee less than Jio, while the company’s 30 GB plan is being offered at Rs 83, which is Rs 16 more than Reliance Jio’s.
indian railwaysSome bidders have claimed that Reliance Jio, which is the lowest bidder, has violated a tender condition.
Indian Railways move to award a telecom major the contract for 3.78 lakh mobile phone connections of its employees has run into a rough patch. According to an IE report, some bidders have claimed that Reliance Jio, which is the lowest bidder, has violated a tender condition. RailTel, the telecom arm of the national transporter, floated the tender which was opened on October 18, but has not yet been awarded. Apart from Reliance Jio, other bidders are Vodafone-Idea, Airtel and state-owned BSNL. The report said that a new contentious clause has been introduced in the tender process this time, which stipulates that the rates across various plans will not vary more than 50% of the minimum data rates stated in any of the plan.
According to sources quoted in the report, a couple of bidders have alleged that while this condition restricted their pricing offer, the same does not seem to have been applied on Reliance Jio. However, the company has denied this allegation. Indian Railways identified four plans from telecom companies in order to distribute them among its staff and officers across the country. Among total users, the senior-most section, which comprises 2% of them is to get a data plan of 60 gigabytes (GB) per month. The next section, comprising 26% users will get a 45 GB plan, while the largest section of 72% users will be provided with a 30 GB data pack. In all plans, calls are to be free. In addition to these, there is also a fourth plan, which is meant for only for 7,200 users and will be for operational purposes using SMSes only.
The report further said that the second lowest financial bid was submitted by Airtel of Rs 3.37 crore per month excluding taxes. On the other hand, Reliance Jio’s offer was for Rs 2.92 crore per month. According to sources in RailTel, who were quoted in the report, Airtel has highlighted the fact that the top plan of Jio for 60 GB data, which is being offered for Rs 125, is costlier by 86% than its 30 GB plan, which is offered for Rs 67 per month.
Industry sources were quoted saying that the two companies are interpreting the language of the clause differently. According to them, while Reliance Jio is seeing minimum data rates as the rate per GB, the Airtel is viewing the minimum data rate as the lowest rate offered for total data in the plan. For Rs 124, Airtel has offered data plan of 60 GB data plan, which is a rupee less than Jio, while the company’s 30 GB plan is being offered at Rs 83, which is Rs 16 more than Reliance Jio’s.
