BSNL Looking to Award $910M contract

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BSNL Looking to Award $910M contract

By Mark Evans | November 26, 2007

The last time Nortel aggressively waded into India, it ended up losing more than $260-million on a GSM/GPRS deal to expand Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.’s wireless network - a project pushed by ex-CEO Bill Owens despite the objections of ex-COO Gary Daichendt, who correctly believed it was an uneconomic proposition.

Since then, Nortel has taken a lower-key approach by making small investments (e.g. Sasken Communications) and winning some interesting, but not major, contracts. Call it a pragmatic strategy towards one of the most intriguing, but complex, markets in the world.

There’s speculation, however, that Nortel could take a significant step forward in India if it can win some of BSNL ’s $910 million order for GSM lines. When bidding for the deal was completed earlier this year, Ericsson won 60%, or $1.3-billion worth of business, with a $91 a line bid. Nokia bid $171 a line to finish second but missed a deadline to respond to the BSNL order.

If Nokia doesn’t get its act together, this may open the door to Ericsson or Nortel - assuming either supplier is willing to offer attractive pricing.

Source: Reuters

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