Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) are in the final stages of closing an estimated $2-billion mega deal (approximately Rs 16,000 crore) to launch BSNL¡¯s 4G network.
The two companies have bridged differences over pricing and other commercial terms, hence paving the way for the Tata group¨Cled consortium to emerge as India¡¯s first indigenous telecom network solutions provider in a market dominated by global majors, as per ET.
¡°There was a lot of procedural delay on pricing, but it is now expected to be finalised within a few days,¡± said?a person in the know.?adding that the Centre is keen to see a closure ¡°as it has been pending for some time.¡± The public-private combine is expected to roll out BSNL¡¯s 4G services across 100,000 towers or sites.
Tejas Networks, which is a unit of TCS¡¯ parent company Tata Sons, is expected to locally manufacture the network equipment for BSNL.
The state-run telecom company serves some 111 million wireless subscribers. The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), a government-owned telecommunications technology developer, has reportedly partnered with TCS to develop a core 4G solution as well as radio equipment.
¡°Effectively the TCS consortium, including C-DoT and Tejas, will be ready for 4G product rollout by early next year,¡± said the person cited above, as per ET.
Loss-making BSNL has been planning to launch 4G services since 2019 but in 2020, it was forced to cancel a tender due to restrictive conditions for domestic firms. Subsequently, it was directed to only utilize equipment from domestic companies. BSNL's plan to launch 4G comes at a time when telcos Reliance Jio and Airtel are set to soon launch 5G in October.
BSNL is reportedly in the process of setting up 6,000 4G sites using the 4G stack of C-DoT-TCS under a Rs 550-crore deal awarded earlier.
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The latest deal with TCS comes in the wake of the mega bailout package of Rs 1.64-lakh provided to BSNL, which reportedly includes a grant of spectrum, 4G launch and funding of operations and capital expenses, among other elements.
BSNL has worked with TCS, Tejas and C-DoT to test homegrown 4G technology as part of a Rs 200-crore proof of concept. The 5G stack is still undergoing testing, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Earlier in July 2022, TCS¡¯s COO (Chief Operating Officer) N Ganapathy Subramaniam had said that the company was gearing up to deploy 4G solutions after a successful pilot, and that the 5G engagement was progressing. ¡°We are geared to start equipment supply and deployment thereof much before the end of this year,¡± he had said, as per the report.
A successful rollout of BSNL¡¯s 4G network could land India into a coveted club of countries such as the US, Sweden, Finland, South Korea and China, that have developed telecom network technology. The market is dominated by the likes of Sweden¡¯s Ericsson, Finland¡¯s Nokia and China¡¯s Huawei, while Korea¡¯s Samsung is also emerging as a key player, the report mentioned.
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