In a reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for IT and Telecom, Gurudas Kamat said that the Central Vigilance Commission is examining the alleged irregularities in the selection of franchisees for rolling out Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)?s Wi-Max network, according to news reports.
Kamat elaborated that BSNL has entered into an agreement with franchisees for roll-out of Wi-Max services in the urban areas of Himachal Pradesh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh (West), Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra on a revenue share basis.
BSNL paid Rs 83.13 billion for a pan-India broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum. To use this spectrum, BSNL had opted for the franchisee model to establish its network on a revenue-sharing basis.
As per the agreement, the franchisee was to deploy the Wi-Max network and BSNL would provide infrastructure such as premises, towers and media connectivity.
The Department of Telecommunications has also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the Member (Finance), Telecom Commission, for a detailed examination of the tender floated by BSNL for short-listing Wi-Max franchisees.
