The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : BSNL expansion plan hits roadblocks

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Wednesday, Jun 27, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

BSNL expansion plan hits roadblocks

Special Correspondent

BSNL executives’ plea to Union Minister

CUDDALORE: The Rs.20,000-crore expansion plan of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has suffered a set back owing to delay in getting concurrence for procuring equipment.

Moreover, the delay is entailing a loss of Rs. 200 crore a day to the BSNL, and making it to lose its niche market to the private players, according to N. Balakrishnan, State general secretary of the Sanchar Nigam Executives’ Association. In a representation handed over to Union Minister of State for Law K. Venkatapathi here on Tuesday, Mr. Balakrishnan said that for want of equipment such as microwave towers, the BSNL had been pushed to the third place in the global subscriber module sector (GSM) from the present second position, and, to the fourth place in the cellular sector (GSM and CDMA or compact disc multiple access) from the present third position.

The BSNL had proposed to erect 2,072 new microwave towers in Tamil Nadu alone, on the basis of one tower per 2,000-population. However, it could not be implemented for want of clearance for initiating the tender procedure. Mr. Balakrishnan noted that the proposal to award contract for the supply of 45.5 million GSM lines by the BSNL to Ericsson and Nokia had run into legal tussle because Motorola challenged it.

However, after obtaining legal advice, the association had suggested the BSNL the course of action to be adopted, and it helped in breaking the stalemate and the subsequent unconditional withdrawal of the case by Motorola. Even eight months after the withdrawal of the case, the Centre had not given its nod to the BSNL.

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