BSNL hopes to end impasse on GSM tender soon

Sandwiched between employees' threat of a strike and telecom minister A Raja's insistence to renegotiate the GSM expansion deal, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited said on Friday it hopes to find a solution soon for ending the impasse.

"That (the addition of GSM lines) will be taken care of. I hope the issues will be sorted out soon. We are working on it and hopefully before the strike some decision will be taken," Kuldeep Goyal, BSNL director (planning and new services) said at a seminar in New Delhi.

Asked if the network expansion would finally happen after so much delay, he said: "Sure, naturally... something will happen. There is no need to be pessimistic," he said, but did not say whether discussions have been held with the vendors.

Communications Minister A Raja had earlier said he wanted BSNL to renegotiate the deal for setting up 45.5 million lines with Swedish equipment supplier Ericsson, which had quoted a cost of 107 dollar per line, to below $100 a

line.

BSNL has so far not placed the contract with Ericsson although it had selected the company eight months ago. The delay has also irked BSNL staff union, which has threatened to go on a nation-wide strike on July 11. Goyal also admitted the company was concerned over the delay, which was leading to loss of subscribers.

"It is a matter of concern," he said, when it was pointed out that BSNL had lost market share and its second rank among GSM operators due to the indecision.

With the danger of telecom services being affected when over 3.4 lakh BSNL employees go on strike, he said the company has a contingency plan ready to meet such circumstances.

"BSNL always has a contingency plan ready so that services are not affected," he said.