BSNL gives TCS an advance order worth Rs 15,000 crore for the rollout of 4G

On Monday, public sector telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd issued an advance purchase order (APO) to Tata Consultancy Services valued at over Rs 15,000 crore (BSNL).

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) and Tejas Networks are members of the TCS-led consortium that will execute this order.

"BSNL, a 100% Government of India owned Public Sector Organisation, has issued an Advance Purchase Order valued at over Rs15,000 crore to the consortium led by Tata Consultancy Services Limited for the deployment of a 4G network throughout India," TCS stated in a note to exchanges.

On Monday, ET was the first to reveal this development.

This contract, which has an Estimated value of roughly $1.8 billion, is also one of the biggest ones the major provider of IT services has closed in recent quarters. Its largest transaction completed during the quarter of January through March had a value of almost $750 million.

In November 2022, ET had reported that this transaction may pit the Tata Group consortium against other multinational companies like Ericsson, Nokia, and Huawei as a local supplier of telecom network solutions.

Although BSNL has been discussing the rollout of 4G services since 2019, in 2020 it was compelled to cancel a bidding because of onerous requirements for domestic enterprises.

Following that, the government instructed the telecom operator to use only equipment made in the country. As part of a Rs 200 crore POC, BSNL has previously collaborated with TCS, Tejas Networks, and C-DoT (Centre for Development of Telematics) to test domestic 4G technology.