Delhi HC extends stay on award of contract by BSNL

[KumaarShah 143]

Delhi HC extends stay on award of contract by BSNL

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PTI[ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006 01:30:00 PM]

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday extended the stay on award of contract by BSNL for rolling out 45 million lines for GSM network till January 15, when the matter would be taken up for final hearing.

A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Hima Kohli granted time to the parties after they sought adjournment.

Motorola has challenged BSNL's decision to disqualify it from the bidding process on technical parameters.

Earlier, BSNL, which plans to expand its GSM network by 45 million lines had disqualified Motorola from the bidding process on technical parameters.

Link Courtesy: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/810992.cms

Now BSNL will be unable to give new connections from January 2007. See the foll. article also.

Delay in GSM contract to cost BSNL Rs 300 crore

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RASHMI PRATAP

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2006 12:53:22 AM]

MUMBAI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) will lose around Rs 300 crore in revenue due to the delay in the awarding of its mega contract for 45.5 million GSM lines. The telco is close to exhausting its current capacity of nearly 24 million GSM lines and will have a tough time accommodating cellular subscribers beginning January this year as its user base has already reached 23 million now.

“In most of the circles, we are close to finishing up the existing capacity. Beginning February, cellular growth is likely to come to a standstill because we don’t have the required infrastructure,” a senior BSNL official told ET.

Motorola has approached the Delhi High court, challenging BSNL’s decision to shortlist Ericsson and Nokia as the winners of what is termed as one of the world’s biggest GSM equipment orders. The matter has been stayed by the court till December 14. Even if the court gives the go-ahead in December, the new lines will not be installed before June.

“Equipment vendors will need at least five to six months to supply the first batch of lines after the order is placed,” said an official at an equipment firm.

BSNL’s blended (pre-paid plus post-paid) average revenue per user per month (ARPU) is around Rs 450. The telco has been adding nearly a million users per month for the past few months now. BSNL’s subscriber churn rate is under 1% and so there’s hardly any scope for roping in new users in place of those who exit.

“At this rate, BSNL will lose not less than Rs 300 crore by June. And if the litigation extends beyond December, losses will go up further,” sources said.

The telecom monolith’s plans to add 20 million users annually for the next five years have gone for a toss following the dispute over this tender. “If the matter is not resolved in the next few months, BSNL will lose the race against private operators, some of whom are also adding as many subscribers per month,” said industry analysts.

In the Indian GSM market, BSNL has the second largest share of 23% while market leader Bharti has over 30% with more than 30 million subscribers and is adding over a million subscribers every month.

Link Courtesy:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/793691.cms

[hritik123 4]

the case may be sponsered by airtel, reliance, idea etc

[KumaarShah 143]

really speaking, it seems plausible for these private players to have done this.