Entering the telecom equipment manufacturing race is not for the faint-hearted. The space's incumbents, such as Scandinavian giants Nokia and Ericsson or China's Huawei, have sunk decades and billions of dollars into developing their tech stacks. Add to this their proven track record of building and maintaining telecom networks across the globe, and it's easy to see why it is nigh on impossible to displace the sector's heavyweights.
So, if you were a struggling telecom operator that couldn't afford another false step, odds are you'd put your faith in one of these companies.
Unless you're BSNL.
The loss-making, state-owned telco is in an unenviable position. It has seen the likes of Reliance Jio and Airtel carve through its subscriber base like knives through butter. And BSNL has been fighting them with its hands tied behind its back. It has 4G spectrum, but never got around to actually building a 4G network. Without a 4G network, it's as good as dead. Especially as its rivals are already getting their 5G ducks in a row.
So, who should build BSNL's 4G network?
A) One of its existing vendors—Nokia, Ericsson or ZTE
B) A relatively newer but already established vendor like Samsung
C) A consortium with no experience deploying a telecom network and without a complete 4G tech stack
Yes, BSNL chose option C. Or rather, the Indian government made that decision for it by mandating that BSNL's new network would be made in India, and by Indian companies. The Prime Minister's Office even got involved to ensure this.
As you review this, a consortium led by the Tata Group is in talks to secure a $1.5-2 billion deal to build BSNL's 4G network. Comprised of Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest systems integrator, and Tejas Network, a domestic telecom equipment vendor, as well as some government agencies, the consortium is feverishly working towards a proof of concept for BSNL. A proof of concept that has already missed multiple deadlines and under-delivered in trials, in our today's newsletter of The MMS.
At stake for Tata and Tejas are their 4G and 5G telecoms ambitions, at stake for BSNL is...BSNL - The Prime Minister's Prime Times...