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BSNL picks Nortel for nationwide wireless network

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the largest telecommunications company in India, has awarded Nortel, a contract estimated at approximately US$500 million to expand its GSM/GPRS digital wireless network in the East and South zones of India. This expansion, part of a larger nationwide project, is expected to be completed in the first half of 2005.

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“Nortel is a world leader in providing solutions that enhance the human experience and power global commerce,” said Bill Owens, president and chief executive officer, Nortel. “We are very pleased to have been selected, and proud of the profound impact our solutions will have on the BSNL customer experience and of our contribution to the increasing growth and sophistication of the telecommunications industry in India.”

India is among the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world and the teledensity now stands at approximately eight percent, or more than 86 million people with telephones. This figure is expected to grow to 15 percent by 2010, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

“Nortel's wireless technology is expected to play an important role in helping us achieve our objective of becoming the leading telecommunications company in India and our vision of bringing advanced communications services to millions across India,” said A.K. Sinha, chairman and managing director, BSNL.

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Under the award, Nortel will deploy an end-to-end GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) solution — including GSM radio base stations, mobile switching centres (MSCs), intelligent networks (IN) and other related equipment — to provide wireless voice and data services with carrier-grade network reliability. Demonstrating Nortel's leadership position across core and access, this network solution will be characterized by high security, exceptional radio performance and advanced wireless voice and data features.

This contract is an important strategic investment that provides footprint in India. Commitments to date against the contract represent the majority of the investment and are expected to result in an approximately $0.03 per share cost impact to Nortel's third quarter in 2004.

“We are delighted that Nortel has been awarded the contract for rolling out seven million cellular mobile lines in the South and East zones,” said N.K. Mangla, director (Commercial and Marketing), BSNL. “I am confident that their global expertise and their technology innovation will help position BSNL in meeting the ever growing demand in this competitive environment.”

“This being the largest tender in the world for the expansion of cellular services in India, with the intention of connecting India to mobility, we welcome Nortel to join us in this project for a long-term relationship and to help us in providing state-of-the-art technology for our esteemed customers,” said S.D. Saxena, director (Finance), BSNL.

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