TCS, Infosys in fray for Airtel's $1-2 bn IT contract

NEW DELHI: Domestic firms including TCS, Infosys and Wipro are vying for Bharti Airtel's IT services contract said to be worth $1-2 billion, which is likely to close soon.

Airtel, the country's largest telecom operator, had scaled down the value of its IT services contract, which was renewed with IBM last month for a five-year period.

The previous agreement between the two companies was based on revenue sharing and was worth $2 billion, sources said at the time. For the renewed pact with IBM, the value is about $500-$550 million, they said.

As Airtel had indicated it might bring in more partners for its IT needs, these domestic firms are in talks with the operator, although nothing has been finalised, sources said.

When contacted, Airtel refused to comment. While announcing the contract renewal with IBM, Airtel had said it would develop its own capabilities and indicated that it may rope in more partners for its IT needs.

"As part of the new vision, Airtel is also building in-house capabilities and a strong partner eco-system," the company said in an April 2 statement announcing the selection of IBM to manage IT infrastructure and applications for its operations in India.