BSNL to float Rs.20,000 crore tender for 40-60 million lines
By Our Corporate Bureau | 09 Sep 2005
Kolkata: PSU telecom major, BSNL, will be floating a tender valued at Rs20,000 crore for 40-60 million lines, out of which 3G lines alone would account for 30-40 per cent of the total.
Speaking on the sidelines of a national convention on e-governance, organised by Grameen Sanchar Society (Grasso), A K Sinha, chairman and managing director of BSNL, said the tender would be floated sometime over the next one month. He added, the cost would work out to around Rs3,800-Rs4,000 per line.
At present, the GSM subscriber base of BSNL was at 1.13 crore and the telecom major would add another two crore lines over the next four months. Sinha said, while 3G would be rolled out by March, Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (Edge) would be launched by the end of the month.
Addressing the seminar, Union IT and communication minister, Dayanidhi Maran said, the BSNL's GSM subscriber base would grow to 32 million in four months' time. The expansion programme of BSNL would ensure on-demand mobile phones for consumers.
When asked about the BSNL-MTNL merger, Sinha said, financial consultants had submitted the report and it was now pending with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
