Latest news with #BharatNet3
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Cost-effective tariff, free 5G, service quality to drive BSNL 4G customers: Pemmasani
Once BSNL's 4G current deployment is stabilised, the Cabinet approval for the fresh 1 lakh sites will be sought, and the state-run telco is mulling offering free 5G wireless access, and cost-effective tariffs to woo subscribers. In an exclusive interaction with ETTelecom's Muntazir Abbas, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications, talks on BSNL 4G network, BharatNet 3 program, Vodafone Idea's health, India's 6G readiness, and telecom carriers' anti-spam initiatives. Edited excerpts. You recently talked about BSNL, which is expected to add an additional 1 lakh 4G sites. By when is this likely to happen including the Cabinet nod? Firstly, we must perfect 1 lakh sites for which the order has been given. Once we get confidence that the technology is working the way we wanted, and competing with the global standards, and the subscriber base is increasing, then we will ask the Cabinet through our prime minister. That is our internal ministerial plan, but obviously, still a few more months to go for that. Will this be an open bid, or continued with homegrown partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)? This has not even been finalised, and it has not been approved by the Cabinet. Once approved, it will follow the standard bidding process. What expectations do you have from the BSNL once 4G is commercially available nationally? I think there are certain things that are highly favourable to BSNL. People have a lot of trust when it comes to security, and it being the lifeline or backbone during the disaster preparedness and at border areas and rural villages, it has earned that kind of trust and loyalty among the people. Once BSNL provides competitive 4G services, people will flock into it. In addition, the price can be competitive, and these days, people use a couple of SIMs. In my view, the concept of 'indigenous' appeared to be favourable. We can provide quality customer service and quality service, bundling different services with broadband. We are also thinking about coming up with free 5G wireless access. Some innovative approaches are being brought into the BSNL. So, with all of these, I am hoping these will increase BSNL's customer base. Share an update on the BharatNet 3 project. By when is it likely to be completed? This is such a huge project. We have done it in an extensively transparent process. Whoever has been allotted, would start working right away. We want to finish it within the next 2 years as much as possible. Is the ministry working on some sort of relief package for the telecom industry? The current health of the telecom sector is quite good. We are not even discussing anything at this point of time. The only issue is Vodafone Idea which we have already done quite a bit. ₹36,000 crores converting debt into equity itself is a large thing that we have done. But no more equity conversion. I mean we do not have any plan to convert dues into additional equity currently Don't you think it's high time for the government, being a majority stakeholder in Vodafone Idea, to take steps to get it out of the woods? Exactly. That is the reason we have converted debt into equity. The government cannot solve all the problems they have or are experiencing. So, this is not something we can do in a day. This requires the Prime Minister-headed Cabinet's nod. Multiple people must have to be involved. They (VIL) keep on approaching us, and it will continuously be examined. Did Vodafone Idea approach again for some relief? Every time, they will be putting a proposal. They come up with alternatives, too. We never shut the doors for anybody. There are always Cabinet ministers available. What will be your piece of advice to Vodafone Idea? They are in the public markets. They have to manage their own business. They are smart people and run multiple businesses. They know how to operate. For the last several years, Industry bodies have been demanding a cut in the Universal Service Obligation Fund or Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) levy making it effectively zero? There is no immediate need. The telecom sector is quite profitable. Telcos are expanding into 5G. We do not have any additional plans to give any incentives at this point of time. The 4G Saturation program is relatively slow in terms of implementation? No, it is not. One must understand, these are the places that even private players felt impossible to deploy towers. We are talking about forest areas, hilly areas where you do not have road access. These are the leftover places. So, execution itself is very difficult. We deployed close to 14,000 towers out of the 27,000. So, 50% has been completed already, and another 50% of the work is being fast-tracked as well. You have funded some institutions as part of the next generation (6G) technology innovation strategy. How is it contributing to technology development? We have given funding to around 111 institutions. They did file quite a few patents. We are continuously reviewing those projects. But we are confident we will be able to get at least 5 to 10% of the 6G patents by India. Once you have these patents, they will be inserted into the standards. The department has formed multiple forums for 6G development like you had in 5G? TCS is working on 6G actively. Our goal is to give as much funding as possible to all the people who are interested, especially the startups. The innovation is coming from IITs as they have a more structured process. How are you facilitating Make in India or Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the telecom sector? Earlier, or until 10-11 years back, the situation was different. So, because of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, and the government's efforts, especially from the Prime Minister, we were able to bring in large manufacturers. We have got the ecosystem in the beginning, and now we have become the second largest phone exporter. Now, the goal is how to create indigenous components. If you look at our entire 4G and 5G, the government is mandating BSNL to develop indigenous technology and deploy. For a country as big as India, doing multiple things all in 10 years, I think what we have achieved is a remarkable success. Now you look at all the semiconductors and fab sectors, we have started to manufacture locally. Is the government considering any sort of direction to private telecom service providers to use indigenous technology, going forward? In general, mandating private enterprises is probably not the best thing. What we can do is incentivise them and empower them. So, if indigenous 4G works well and 5G is updated, obviously not only people in India, but other countries will also start buying. How are you ensuring the industry reduces spam and spoofing calls and messages? We are ensuring the security aspects of the telecom are being monitored, for the prevention of spam and fraud calls, and to eventually prevent financial frauds. We have taken that also very seriously and are reviewing it as a part of the security aspect. What is the frequency of reviewing anti-spam initiatives of telecom operators? I review monthly with our digital intelligence people. We are integrating Sancharsathi and developing it into multiple languages. Through Sancharsathi, we disconnected more than 4 crore illegal connections. We have also made a lot of changes and strict guidelines for the point-of-sale agents. So, like that, if you look at it, Airtel, you know, one year back, you were not getting spam call warnings. So, are you satisfied with the progress so far? Yes, I am quite satisfied with the progress.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
BharatNet Phase-III: Polycab wins ₹6,447.54-crore deal for Karnataka, Goa and Puducherry circle
NEW DELHI: State-controlled Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited ( BSNL ) has awarded a ₹6,447.54-crore deal to homegrown electrical wires and optical cable manufacturer Polycab to construct and maintain a middle-mile network under the BharatNet Phase-III programme in Karnataka, Goa and Puducherry telecom circle. '...Polycab India Limited has executed an agreement with BSNL as the Project Implementation Agency for Design, Supply, Construction, installation, upgradation, operation and maintenance of middle mile network of Bharat Net in Karnataka, Goa and Puducherry Telecom Circle against Package No. 4 amounting ₹6,447.54 crores (inclusive of GST),' Polycab said in a regulatory filing in aftermarket hours Tuesday. The deal value comprises a capital expenditure (capex) of ₹3,741.92-crore and operating expenditure (opex) of ₹2,245.15-crore, and an opex of ₹460.47-crore for the existing network, as per the filing. BharatNet , a rural telecom connectivity project, is aimed at providing non-discriminatory access to broadband connectivity to all telecom operators (telcos). BSNL has previously awarded contracts to Polycab, ITI Limited, Sterlite Technologies (STL), Telecommunications Consultants of India Limited (TCIL), and Pratap Technocrats, among others, under multiple packages of the BharatNet Phase-III programme. ETTelecom reported on August 7, 2024, that the Telecommunications Consultants of India Limited (TCIL), ITI Limited, indigenous optical fiber cable (OFC) makers HFCL, STL, Polycab, and Pratap Technocrats, are among the bidders for the third phase of the Centre's ambitious BharatNet programme. Indigenous OFC makers Polycab, STL and HFCL presented solo bids while as many as 18 bidders, including G R Infraprojects, Vindhya Telelinks, Pace Digitek Infra Private Limited, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), Bharat Electronics Limited, Megha Engineering, and others, took the consortium route. A total of 21 bidders put in their bids under the BharatNet 3 program for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, North East Region – I and North East Region – II, and others. In early 2024, the Centre rolled out the BharatNet III programme with an outlay of Rs 65,000-crore. The last date to submit bids was August 6, 2024. The tender is part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's Rs 1.39 lakh crore BharatNet programme which aims to provide last-mile broadband connectivity, and upgrade the existing 164,000 gram panchayats, as well as, connect 47,000 gram panchayats under the new model.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Controversies surface over BSNL's ₹1.39 lakh crore BharatNet 3 program
NEW DELHI: The Centre's ambitious digital connectivity program, BharatNet 3—now revamped with an outlay of ₹1.39 lakh crore—is facing serious allegations of 'selective action' by local companies. These claims threaten to drag the initiative, aimed at connecting 6.5 lakh villages, into courtroom battles. State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited ( BSNL ) said that the tender evaluation was done transparently, and the initiative is on track, while defending the recent developments. The discontented bidders, however, are accusing BSNL otherwise. Several complaints were made to the Ministry of Communications over the course of the last few months, including a few shared anonymously. In a five-page letter, dated February 24, 2025, addressed to the Minister of Communications Jyothiraditya Scindia, a complainant said, 'it appears that BSNL has failed to check the lack of primary basic eligibility of bidding parties in accordance with standard procedural norms.' Queries to the Ministry of Communications did not elicit any response. BharatNet 3, a follow-on phase of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's prestigious program, is fully funded by the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) erstwhile Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). BSNL, as a part of pre-bid discussions, had to issue as many as 4,400 clarifications to queries from bidders in May 2024. It also prompted scepticism leaving behind legal loopholes wide open. PSU bias Sources say that while a Bangaluru-based ITI Limited won a package making a relatively smaller firm as a consortium partner, while on the other hand, Assam package awarded to another state-run Telecommunication Consultants India Limited (TCIL), based on 'suo moto' action, citing vendor-selection deviation, is withheld. Interestingly, the ITI-led consortium received a go-ahead from the DoT's Chief Vigilance Office (CVO) within 48 hours when irregularities in selecting consortium partners were brought to its notice. Meanwhile, the vigilance officer in its remarks said that upon examination, it 'did not find prime facie allegations true and due diligence seems to have done" in the process of selection of consortium partner. Query to ITI did not receive any response. Of the overall 16 packages, six were released in the first tranche, including lucrative ones - Uttar Pradesh East and West - won by a public sector Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). Legal tangle On March 10, a Delhi-based company sought cancellation of Haryana package awarded to a lowest bidder citing misrepresentation. It escalated into a bitter spat, with the other side blaming technical flaws on BSNL's part while evaluating the former's bid. State-owned telco, to steer away controversy, sought a 'legal view' from the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India N Venkataraman who on March 12, opined cancelling three packages — Rajasthan, Haryana and Northeast region. The matter took a twist when a legal heavyweight and former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and a former Supreme Court justice AK Sikri weighed in, and strongly contradicted ASG views that put BSNL in a fix. The matter is now under Venkataraman's review. While the state-owned telco is yet to take a considered view upon receiving a revised opinion, BSNL insiders say that they 'have instructions from the top to cancel at least four packages.' Clarifications to 'an extent of substantial modification in eligibility requirement,' enabling disqualification of an otherwise lowest bidder, is not acceptable, said legal experts. Query to ASG of India remained unanswered. 'Despite this clarity, some PSUs continue to take cognisance of anonymous complaints selectively, raising concerns about arbitrary application of vigilance norms. This selective approach defeats the very purpose of the DoPT and CVC notifications, as it allows certain complaints to be used to stall projects or target individuals while ignoring similar issues elsewhere. Such inconsistent action contradicts the principles of transparency and fairness enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution of India,' Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner, KS Legal & Associates said. BSNL defense Those who received purchase orders (PO) from state-driven telco includes NCC Limited, ITI-Tera Software, RVNL-HFCL, Polycab and Sterlite Technologies. 'The complaints received during the evaluation stage were examined thoroughly. In a few cases, complaints were escalated to secondary review Committees for an additional layer of scrutiny. Wherever necessary, the documents submitted by the bidder, and were also verified directly from the source. Financial bids were opened only after all technical evaluations were completed and supporting documents were duly verified. The entire bid evaluation process was carried out in a transparent manner, fully in line with applicable rules and procedures,' BSNL chairman A Robert J Ravi told ETTelecom. Further, Ravi said that the telco adopted a rigorous and transparent evaluation methodology, by instituting sixteen committees—each responsible for one specific package. 'All the committees had at least one external member from academia. The committees assessed the bids strictly as per the eligibility criteria defined in the tender and the documents submitted by bidders.' BharatNet's troubled history The project, executed by state-owned telco under the 'administrative control' of the Ministry of Communications, was relaunched in January 2024 with a ring topology design. Initially envisioned in 2011 under the UPA-II regime as the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN), it was rebranded as BharatNet in 2015. Despite multiple extensions, it continues to face execution hurdles. In July 2022, the Cabinet approved the merger of Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) with BSNL to accelerate project rollout. In August 2023, the Centre approved the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) to expand fibre connectivity to the remaining 3.8 lakh non-Gram Panchayat villages on a demand basis. Bidders are mandated to deploy an IP-MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) network, with hot-swappable routers at the block level. They are also responsible for 10 years of operations and maintenance, including monitoring uptime through a centralized Network Operating Centre (CNOC), as per strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
