Government to float Rs 1,100 crore broadband equipment tender this week

Government is expected to float tender this week for procuring key equipment for national broadband network, estimated to cost around Rs 1,092 crore. 

BBNL official said: "Initial estimates suggest that it should cost around Rs 1,092 crore but we will get to know only when final bids are opened." 

GPON constitutes key equipment to manage broadband services. Government has to install the equipment for national broadband network which aims to connect 2.5 lakh panchayats with high speed Internet services. 

Shankar said that Preferential Market Access (PMA) clause will apply to the tender. Under this norm, GPON equipment will have 75 per cent of its component domestically manufactured. 

While India players in the equipment market include C-Dot and Tejas Networks, foreign makers include Ericsson, Nokia- Siemens Network and Huawei. 

Meanwhile, BBNL is finalising bids in another tender for optical fibre cables (OFC) in which 12 companies having manufacturing facility in the country participated. 

The OFC bids was open for companies having manufacturing facility in India which included Birla Ericsson, a joint venture between the Indian and the Swedish firm. 

Aksh Optifibre, Sterlite technologies, Paramount Cables, Vindhya Telelinks, Finolex, UM Cables, HFCL, KEC, Uniflex, Sudarshan Telecom and Tamil Nadu Telecom are other firms in the race for this project. 

Government had planned to complete the broadband network by the end of this year but the project has been delayed partly due to legal issues.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/broadband-and-iptv-news/item/2963-government-to-float-rs-1,100-crore-broadband-equipment-tender-this-week.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/broadband-and-iptv-news/item/2963-government-to-float-rs-1,100-crore-broadband-equipment-tender-this-week.html