NEW DELHI: Homegrown optical fiber and telecom gear maker HFCL, along with its consortium partners Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and Aerial Telecom Solutions, have emerged as the lowest (L1) bidders, earnings over Rs 8,100 crore contracts from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to deploy middle-mile network under various packages of BharatNet Phase 3.
The consortium has been declared as the L1 bidders by BSNL for bids valued at about Rs 6,925 crores to provide middle-mile network in Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) under the BharatNet Phase 3 program, HFCL said on Monday.
The consortium will be awarded 10 years of operations and maintenance order at an annual rate of 5.5% of capex for the first five years and 6.5% for the subsequent five years which worth nearly Rs 4,155 crores, after commissioning the first ring of the network .
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HFCL has also emerged as the top bidder for the Punjab circle for a bid value of nearly Rs 1,244 crores in the BharatNet Phase 3 tenders, on a standalone basis.
Furthermore, HFCL is expected to secure 10 years of O&M orders valued at around Rs 746 crores with annual rates of 5.5% per annum of capex for the first five years and 6.5% per annum of capex for the next five years, after commissioning the first ring of the network, the homebred vendor said.
“HFCL is well placed with a diverse product line that includes routers, optical fiber cables, fiber connectivity solutions, transport solutions, power management solutions etc., to address the needs of the BharatNet Phase III program. As a trusted BSNL partner, we look forward to continued collaborations and contributing significantly to the success of BharatNet Phase-III program,” said Mahendra Nahata, Managing Director of HFCL.
Additionally, BSNL has lately awarded contracts to Polycab, ITI Limited, Sterlite Technologies (STL), Telecommunications Consultants of India Limited (TCIL), and Pratap Technocrats, among others, under multiple packages of the BharatNet Phase 3 program.
ETTelecom reported on August 7 this year that the Telecommunications Consultants of India Limited (TCIL), ITI Limited, indigenous optical fiber cable (OFC) makers HFCL, STL, Polycab, and Pratap Technocrats, are among the bidders for the third phase of the Centre’s ambitious BharatNet program.
Indigenous OFC makers Polycab, STL and HFCL presented solo bids while as many as 18 bidders, including G R Infraprojects, Vindhya Telelinks, Pace Digitek Infra Private Limited, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), Bharat Electronics Limited, Megha Engineering, and others, took the consortium route.
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A total of 21 bidders put in their bids under the BharatNet 3 program for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, North East Region – I and North East Region – II, and others.
In early 2024, the Centre rolled out the BharatNet III program with an outlay of Rs 65,000-crore. The last date to submit bids was August 6, 2024.
The tender is part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s Rs 1.39 lakh crore BharatNet program which aims to provide last-mile broadband connectivity, and upgrade the existing 164,000 gram panchayats, as well as, connect 47,000 gram panchayats under the new model.
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