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NEW DELHI, JULY 19: India's telecoms minister has cleared a decision by state-run firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to halve the size of a major GSM equipment tender, a business daily reported on Thursday.
The newspaper said a report prepared by BSNL's board outlining the move and handed to the minister, A. Raja, was returned with the comment: "There is no need for further consideration as it will delay the issue of the order."
"The order will now be placed according to the board decision," the paper said, quoting sources at the firm.
In March 2006, BSNL invited tenders for 45.5 million GSM lines, both 2G and 3G, and Ericsson and Nokia emerged as the lowest bidders at USD107 and USD 176 per line respectively.
But Raja asked BSNL to negotiate a lower price, arguing it would be paying substantially more for the equipment than another state-run firm, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.
When contacted, a senior BSNL official, who could not be named, confirmed the move and said Ericsson would be offered USD 80 a line.
"The order will now be for about 23 million lines, which is 50 per cent of the original tender," he said. "Fourteen million lines will be for the first phase. An order for 3.5 million 3G lines will be placed at a later stage.
"We had doubts about the pricing. We reconciled it."
Ericsson India's vice president for marketing and strategy, P. Balaji, declined to comment when asked if the firm had been informed of BSNL's decision. |