NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
on Wednesday cancelled the tender for the fourth generation (4G)
network upgradation and expansion, after the government recently barred
state-run telcos from sourcing equipment from Chinese players Huawei and ZTE.
"Tender for planning, engineering, supply, installation, testing commissioning and annual maintenance of 4G mobile network in the north, east, west and south zones of BSNL and Delhi and Mumbai LSA of MTNL on turnkey basis issued on March 23, 2020, is hereby canceled." the state-run telco in a notification said.
Last week, a controversy erupted following the inclusion of China-origin ZTE which allegedly has links with the Communist government as the People's Liberation Army killed as many as 20 Indian soldiers in Ladakh valley deadly clash in mid-June.
In March, the public-sector telecom company, as a part of phase - IX network expansion, had invited bids for the upgradation for 49,300 sites to 4G and the addition of 7,000 new sites in two metropolitans-- Delhi and Mumbai for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).
However, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had expressed strong displeasure over the inclusion of the Chinese company after the telco had said that it was ready to disallow ZTE if the government would ask it to do so.
BSNL had initially proposed ZTE, along with Nokia, for proprietary migration of its networks from 2G, 3G to 4G as a technically and commercially viable option, which will offer the shortest timeline for 4G rollout. DoT though didn’t clear that proposal.
Meanwhile, the homegrown companies felt that the state-owned telco's tender was arbitrary and restrictive in nature and against the principles of public procurement under Make in India 2017 policy.
Now, a new tender will be floated which may lay emphasis on preference for local suppliers, sources said.
The Ministry of Commerce, following a letter from the Telecom Equipment Promotional Council (Tepc) had warned the officials of disciplinary action if the public procurement conditions in BSNL's tender are not met.
The domestic players say that the BSNL's bidding provisions appeared to be lucrative to multinational vendors that majorly include existing telco's existing partners ZTE and Nokia.
Recently, a panel comprising of officials of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and DoT was formed to examine the bidding document for violation of existing policies.
"Tender for planning, engineering, supply, installation, testing commissioning and annual maintenance of 4G mobile network in the north, east, west and south zones of BSNL and Delhi and Mumbai LSA of MTNL on turnkey basis issued on March 23, 2020, is hereby canceled." the state-run telco in a notification said.
Last week, a controversy erupted following the inclusion of China-origin ZTE which allegedly has links with the Communist government as the People's Liberation Army killed as many as 20 Indian soldiers in Ladakh valley deadly clash in mid-June.
In March, the public-sector telecom company, as a part of phase - IX network expansion, had invited bids for the upgradation for 49,300 sites to 4G and the addition of 7,000 new sites in two metropolitans-- Delhi and Mumbai for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).
However, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had expressed strong displeasure over the inclusion of the Chinese company after the telco had said that it was ready to disallow ZTE if the government would ask it to do so.
BSNL had initially proposed ZTE, along with Nokia, for proprietary migration of its networks from 2G, 3G to 4G as a technically and commercially viable option, which will offer the shortest timeline for 4G rollout. DoT though didn’t clear that proposal.
Meanwhile, the homegrown companies felt that the state-owned telco's tender was arbitrary and restrictive in nature and against the principles of public procurement under Make in India 2017 policy.
Now, a new tender will be floated which may lay emphasis on preference for local suppliers, sources said.
The Ministry of Commerce, following a letter from the Telecom Equipment Promotional Council (Tepc) had warned the officials of disciplinary action if the public procurement conditions in BSNL's tender are not met.
The domestic players say that the BSNL's bidding provisions appeared to be lucrative to multinational vendors that majorly include existing telco's existing partners ZTE and Nokia.
Recently, a panel comprising of officials of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and DoT was formed to examine the bidding document for violation of existing policies.
