Three telecom companies shortlisted for BSNL's Rs 30,000-crore contract

Three telecom companies — Spanco Telesystems and Solutions, TVS Interconnect Systems (a TVS group firm) and Acme Tele Power — have emerged as the front-runners for state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd’s (BSNL) Rs 30,000-crore infrastructure contract. Besides, network services major GTL and power company KEC are in the second and third positions, enabling them to get 25 per cent of the total contract.

“Spanco was the lowest bidder for the west zone, TVS for south, Acme Tele Power for north and east for the passive cellular infrastructure (tower) contract. The telecom ministry has called for a meeting of the L1 players tomorrow, and a final decision on this will come out in a couple of days,” a source close to development said.

BSNL would be spending around Rs 7,500 crore per zone, resulting in a Rs 30,000 crore outlay for all the four zones. This means that in case Spanco and TVS win the bid they would get contract worth Rs 7,500 crore, and Acme Tele Power Rs 15,000 crore of business.

The contract is towards building and maintenance of passive cellular infrastructure including towers, shelters, diesel generators, air-conditioning and associated services, the source added.

When contacted, Spanco Systems Deputy Managing Director Deepak Bhagchandaney confirmed the development and said the company was in final laps of bagging the contract.

“BSNL is a strategic account and apart from bidding for passive infrastructure, we have also put in our bid for the information technology part (billing and software solutions). We are bidding for the north and east zones in IT,” said Bhagchandaney.

TVS Interconnect and Acme Tele Power could not be immediately contacted for comments.

Meanwhile, GTL has emerged as the second lowest bidder (L2) in west and north zones, and the third lowest (L3) in the east zone. KEC is believed to be L2 in the west zone.

Under the BSNL contract, 50 per cent of the total contract will be awarded to L1, while the remaining 50 per cent would be spilt between L2 and L3 bidders. GTL is estimated to get around Rs 5,500 crore worth of business.

When contacted, a GTL official, on condition of anonymity, said the company was comfortably positioned on “both technical and commercial evaluations. However, it is premature to comment on the timing and value of the contracts”.

According to a KEC spokesperson: “We have not won the bid yet.” However, a company source said: “We are one of the final contenders but we have not been officially informed”.

BSNL had earlier called for a 93-million GSM line contract in 2008, and divided the country into four zones. The bidding was divided into four parts — GSM equipment for 2G, GSM equipment for 3G, passive infrastructure and IT.