KOLKATA: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has pulled up state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) for its decision to use a solar-powered conventional technology solution for establishing mobile connectivity in the country's Naxalite hotbeds, claiming it is both expensive and ill-suited for meeting rollout challenges in these inhospitable regions.
"Capex cost of the conventional solar-based system proposed by BSNL would be 119% more than the original cost estimates for establishing mobile networks in regions prone to Left-wing extremism (LWE)," according to an internal note seen by ET.
DoT said the higher capex projection is based on bid details of BSNL's recent GSM expansion tender for the west zone. For instance, BSNL's capex component for powering 1,836 sites in the west zone, using such a conventional network solution, is pegged at Rs2,876 crore, effectively 119% higher than the Rs1,314-crore capex estimate of rolling out an equal number of sites using GSM technology advocated by the DoT and the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF).
The USOF, which is an independent DoT arm, will fund the Cabinet-approved mobile rollout in Naxal areas, internally known as the LWE venture. But the project has been hanging fire as the USOF is opposed to a 28.5% cost escalation proposed by BSNL for rolling out such mobile networks.
The state-run telco, which is implementing the LWE project, has justified the cost escalation on the ground that it will have to buy network gear at current market rates.
BSNL's plans to buy the solarbased network gear from Delhibased VNL and Himachal Futuristic Communications LtdBSE -2.19 % (HFCL) at current market rates. VNL, which is the lowest bidder (L1), will meet 70% of BSNL's needs while HFCL, the second (L2) bidder, will supply the remaining requirement if it matches VNL's price bid.
A BSNL director aware of the matter said "there is no difference" in the solar-based network solution being offered by VNL and HFCL viz-a-viz the solar-based GSM solution proposed by USOF and DoT. "Both companies have demonstrated the compatibility of their products and they meet the general requirements specified by DoT's Telecom Engineering Centre".