10 June 2024
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has demanded Rs 99 crore reimbursement from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The amount will be spent by BSNL for additional O&M (operations and maintenance) for sites where the Evolved Node B (eNB) will be supplied at a delayed point by TCS (Tata Consultancy Services)/ITI. The delay will result in unnecessary costs for BSNL, which is trying to roll out homegrown 4G on government orders.
Reena Malhotra, GM (NWP-SP), BSNL, said in a letter to USOF, Department of Telecommunications, that looking at the delivery and commissioning progress of the eNB from TCS/ITI, it is expected that there will be a delay in BTS installation at around 9,000 sites where BSNL will have to start O&M.
Malhotra said that there is a delay in the installation and commissioning of the core in four zones by TCS. In the North Zone, the first core will be installed by June 2024. USOF gives money to BSNL for the 4G saturation project for setting up mobile sites and towers to serve in areas which are deprived of network connectivity as there's no major economic return in those zones for the private telcos.
A TCS-led consortium which includes Tejas Networks and Centre for Development of Telematics is supplying the indigenous developed 4G equipment and core to BSNL.
