Bharat Broadband Network (BBNL) is planning to invite bids for procuring gigabit passive optical network (GPON) equipment for the government?s national optical fibre network (NOFN) project.
BBNL is expected to procure GPON equipment worth Rs 25 billion to Rs 30 billion for the same. The equipment procured would be used for transferring voice, data and video over a fiber-optic broadband network being laid by the government for connecting 250, 000 gram panchayats across the country.
BBNL plans to invite bids by early-August and is likely to award the contract for supplying the equipment to five companies.
Earlier, BBNL had held a pre-bid conference in which domestic GPON vendors such as Tejas Networks, ITI, VMC Systems, Bharat Electronics, Sai Infosystems, United Telecoms, Himachal Futuristic Communications and the Indian units of foreign vendors such as Huawei, ZTE and Ericsson participated.
While awarding the contract, BBNL will follow India?s preferential market access (PMA) policy. Since GPON systems have been classified as ?electronics with security implications?, BBNL will be securing 75 per cent of its total equipment requirement from the Indian vendors and the rest of the 25 per cent from global vendors.
