TCS-Led Consortium Wins Rs 15,000-Crore BSNL Deal To Deploy 4G Network Across India

Tejas Networks, a subsidiary of Tata Group, is a part of the consortium and will supply and service the radio access network (RAN) equipment

The announcement ends months of speculation around the deal, where TCS-led consortium was tipped to be the front runner for the contract.

Source : Getty

India's largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has bagged a Rs 15,000-crore contract from BSNL to deploy 4G network for the state-run telco. In a statement, TCS said it has received an "advance purchase order" valued over Rs 15,000 crore from BSNL.

The announcement ends months of speculation around the deal, where TCS-led consortium was tipped to be the front runner for the contract. The deal has been in the works for many months.

TCS is the country's largest software exporter and typically books over 5 per cent of its revenue domestically. Tejas Networks, a subsidiary of Tata Group, is a part of the consortium and will supply and service the radio access network (RAN) equipment.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) provides fixed line and wireless telephony, and data services across the country barring Mumbai and New Delhi. Private rivals of BSNL already provide 4G services and have also launched 5G offerings in select pockets of the country.

"Tejas Networks is a part of the TCS-led consortium that successfully bid for the BSNL pan-India 4G project. BSNL has issued an advance purchase order (APO) to TCS as well as ITI for this project. As a part of the consortium, Tejas Networks will supply and service the radio access networks (RAN) equipment," the company said in another regulatory filing.

TCS has also partnered with the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) for the deal. BSNL will use a 4G core, developed indigenously for the first time by C-DOT.

According to news reports, this TCS-ITI deal is likely to be a part of the same package. BSNL's 4G services are expected to be rolled out across 100,000 towers or sites.

This will be the IT services behemoth's third major deal in 2023, following a $723-million deal from UK-based Phoenix Group and another one with British retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S). Though the exact deal size was not disclosed, according to reports, the M&S deal was worth $1 billion.

At 1.15 pm, shares of TCS were trading at Rs 3,262.90 apiece, up 1.28 per cent on the BSE on Monday.