Alcatel, Ericsson, Nokia submit bids for BSNL line tender

NEW DELHI: State-owned BSNL on Thursday said it has received bids from Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks for acquiring 5.5 million lines to expand its GSM operations.

"Yes, we have received bids from three foreign vendors -- NSN, Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal told PTI.

The telecom operator had earlier called for a 93 million line tender, which was later cancelled.

The PSU has not included Chinese equipment players like Huawei and ZTE for the current tender.

Huawei was the winner in one of the regions under the earlier 93 million line tender.

BSNL had earlier cancelled 93 million line tender amid controversies that the process lacked competition and also the PSU did not require that kind of capacity addition at one go.

Leading vendor Nokia-Siemens, which was disqualified from participating in the financial bid, had also challenged the decision of the telecom PSU in the court.

Due to cancellation of the tender, the PSU has been facing a severe capacity shortage.