BSNL postpones V5.2-based urban telephony tender

Neeraja Kumar in New Delhi

The last date for the submission of the bids for the Rs 800-crore urban telephony tender of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, based on the V5.2 interface specifications, has been postponed by four weeks, to September 11. The tender has been delayed since BSNL is yet to provide the clarifications on network planning.

The vendors had also been demanding an extension in the last date of submission of the tender, since the time given by BSNL for “type approval” of the equipment was too short. The bids were earlier supposed to be submitted on August 14.

While around 13 companies have bought the bid documents, only LG, Lucent, and Hyundai are expected to bid for the tender, since most of the other multi-national vendors have stopped manufacturing equipment based on the outdated V5.2 interface.

Earlier, lack of funds had forced BSNL to truncate the size of this tender, which is to be based on wireless in local loop (WLL) code division multiple access (CDMA) technology from 16 lakh lines to 5 lakh lines.

Interestingly, the use of the V5.2 interface increases the cost of implementation by up to 40 per cent. Moreover, since this interface is not spectrum friendly, many private operators and even the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) are putting network augmentation plans on hold, till the confusion surrounding the mandatory use of V5.2 is sorted out.

BSNL meanwhile has chosen to go ahead with the tender, despite protests from vendors who have stopped manufacturing V5.2 based equipment.