Homegrown telecom equipment companies, represented by a local industry group, have expressed concerns regarding the bidding conditions for the BharatNet phase III initiative, arguing that the mandated 50% value addition of active and passive components locally could hinder India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) goals. RK Bhatnagar, director general of Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (Voice), highlighted that such conditions might deter or disqualify local companies competing against multinational firms.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) recently issued a tender notice for the BharatNet – III program, aimed at providing last-mile connectivity and upgrading existing gram panchayats. The initiative, backed by the Universal Service Obligation (USO) fund, requires bids to be submitted by April 2, 2024. In response, a consortium of domestic companies, including United Telecoms Limited (UTL), Tejas Networks, Nivetti Systems, and others, has appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Communications for intervention.
The group raised concerns about discrepancies in the calculation of local content in the tender clause, potentially favoring entities deploying imported equipment. They emphasized the importance of implementing a local design and manufacturing-led Make in India policy, in line with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) guidelines.
Despite challenges, recent achievements in indigenous technology development, such as Bengaluru-based Nivetti Systems’ 2.4 tbps router, have been hailed as significant milestones for the country by Minister of Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw. However, Jaijit Bhattacharya, Founder & President of the Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research (C-DEP), highlighted the ongoing struggles of Indian domestic firms for market access compared to their US counterparts.
Voice emphasized the need for policies akin to those adopted for the BSNL 4G project to promote the use of locally designed and manufactured IP/MPLS routers for the BharatNet Phase-III expansion.
