Chinese firms get orders from BSNL, MTNL

09 November 2006

New Delhi: Chinese telecom equipment companies Huawei and ZTE have received large orders from state-owned BSNl and MTNL. Huawei has won a Rs220-crore order from MTNL to supply broadband equipment for 5-lakh subscribers and ZTE has received part of a 6-million line broadband project from BSNL.

Till now both the companies were struggling to get large contracts in the Indian telecom market dominated by Nokia, Ericsson, UTStarcom and Siemens.

There is currently a debate going on within the government on doing business in strategic sectors with certain countries, including China.

The proposals from ZTE and Huawei to start trading in India were earlier put on hold by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board while Huawei was in trouble, with BSNL blacklisting it after the company failed to deliver CDMA equipment on time.

Lin Yan Qing, director, marketing, Huawei India, said, "We are proud and happy at being selected by MTNL. Huawei is a global leader in providing broadband solutions. The products offered to MTNL have been deployed worldwide. The contract signifies our long-term commitment to the Indian market, which is a strategic market for us."