BSNL''s GSM Contract Strikes Another Bump

New Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd''s controversial GSM cellular project has hit yet another roadblock with Nokia Siemens expressing worries with the revised tender conditions negotiated between Ericsson and BSNL. While 60 per cent of the contract for 22.5 million GSM cellular lines has already been given to the Swedish major Ericsson on account of being the lowest bidder, the other part was supposed to be given to Nokia Siemens as it had emerged the second lowest bidder. According to BSNL sources, Nokia has expressed difficulty in assuming some terms of the contracts on the grounds that the specifications of the equipment were changed after the company put in the bids without consultation with them.

They (Nokia) have expressed some doubts and BSNL have clarified them. Industry sources close to the talks, however, point out that the primary worry for Nokia Siemens is that some of the changes in the tender condition could be more beneficial to Ericsson. They said that Ericsson, which had quoted $107, may have re-negotiated the terms to suit some of its core strengths, including supply from third-party vendors in order to keep the price under $100 as per the instructions of the Communication Ministry. Nokia Siemens likely to opt out of the project though a final decision is yet to be conveyed to BSNL. BSNL''s GSM project, initially envisaged for 45 million subscribers, had been in limbo for more than a year.