PSU telcos to float Rs 2,000-cr tender for submarine cable

NEW DELHI: State-run telecom companies BSNL and MTNL will jointly invest Rs 1,800-2,000 crore for laying an undersea cable between India and Singapore. The companies have hired a consultant to prepare the blueprint for the project and plan to float the tender by March next year, a senior BSNL official said.

The submarine cable system would connect South East Asia and the Middle East and eventually the US and Europe. BSNL’s India-Sri Lanka cable is also ready to be officially launched.

The cable would be laid by Millennium Telecom, a subsidiary of MTNL, in which BSNL has 49% stake.At present, the submarine cable scene does not look encouraging for India as there are only four local bandwidth providers — VSNL, Bharti, Reliance and BSNL — while there are 33 players in London, 32 in USA, 32 in Germany, 24 in France and 14 in South Korea. According to officials, preliminary indications are that the project would be profitable.

Bharti Infotel and VSNL already operate the India-Singapore link through four cable systems in South East Asia, West Asia, Western Europe and Tata India Singapore Cable Systems.Reliance’s Falcon cable system connects India with ten nations in the Middle East and Africa.