Telecom firms vie for contracts in Kerala

Aswathy V

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The steep rise in demand for telephone connections in Kerala

has come as a blessing for many telecom firms, who are now vying with each other

to obtain contracts for turn-key projects and supply of telecommunication

equipment.

Taking the lead is Bharti Teletek, of the Bharti Telecom Group of companies,

which claims to have bagged an order to supply 3.2 lakh telephone instruments

for the Kerala circle of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

But when contacted, BSNL Kerala circle chief general manager P P Ramachandran

said the tendering process was yet to conclude. However, it is possible that the

firm might have quoted the lowest price and hence got a major chunk of the

orders, he said.

Similarly, BSNL has placed orders for the supply of wireless in local loop (WiLL)

equipment and technology with some companies. The total requirement of WLL lines

is around 60,000 in the state. In the first phase, BSN had planned to provide

3,000 WiLL connections in Ernakulam district. But the project has been delayed

due to a technical snag in the project.

Despite BSNL providing an additional 4.56 lakh connections during 2000-01,

the waiting list continues to rise with nearly five lakh applications being

registered every year. The present waiting list for connection stands at 7.74

lakh, of which BSNL has sanctioned 7.18 lakh additional lines.

With physical limitations on its resources, BSNL has gone in for faster

adoption of technology as a viable alternative to provide faster phone

connections, than the traditional method of laying land lines.

As a first step, the Kerala circle had placed orders for WLL equipment in

April and expects the supplies to arrive by August. The commissioning of WLL

lines are expected to be completed only by December.

Meanwhile, the technical feasibility of bids for undertaking GSM Mobile phone

installation and commissioning, on a turnkey basis, in the Kerala circle is

being evaluated by an expert committee in Thiruvananthapuram. The financial bids

are likely to be opened within two weeks, sources in the Kerala circle said.

Many leading global telecom companies including Ericsson, AT&T, Motorola and

Siemens have bid for the turnkey projects.