NEW DELHI: Global telecom vendors are learnt to be gearing up for the GSM expansion of Reliance Communications, which is the leading CDMA player in the country.
Although officials in the Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications pointed out that the company’s GSM expansion would depend on the government’s spectrum allocation policy and that no decision has been taken yet on the rollout modalities, sources said that telecom equipment vendors are getting ready for Reliance’s mega GSM expansion for an estimated 75 million lines.
That’s 66% bigger than the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) mega tender for 45 million GSM lines which was recently floated.
The industry buzz is that Reliance would float a tender for GSM expansion soon. However, there’s no official communication yet on the timing of such a tender.
Among others, Chinese telecom vendors like ZTE and Huawei are also keen to participate in Reliance’s GSM expansion programme, whenever that happens, a source indicated.
In another development in the telecom industry, Chinese vendor Huawei has emerged as the lowest bidder for Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd’s (MTNL) broadband tender for Delhi.
The project is for 5 lakh lines and estimated at around Rs 200 crore. Huawei’s win in the MTNL tender is being seen as a positive signal for the Chinese industry in India, ahead of China President Hu Jintao’s forthcoming visit.
