India's BSNL Delays $6.5 Billion GSM Network Tender

In a move which probably wont surprise industry watchers, India's Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has decided to delay the date for opening its monster US$6.5 billion tender for GSM infrastructure kit. The bids were due to be opened on July 16 - but will now not be opened until August 30th. BSNL has a track record of delaying, amending and renegotiating its GSM network tenders - but this time put the blame firmly at the flood of interest in the tender. A senior company official said, “We got no less than 21,000 queries from the vendors after the draft tender was put on the BSNL Web site. We need time to address their clarifications. Therefore, the 93-million line tender, which was supposed to be opened on July 16, will now open on August 30.â€_ The US$6.5 billion price tag is based on a US$70 cost per GSM line - and the... [read full story]