BSNL hires ZTE to enhance broadband services

China-based telecom equipment provider ZTE Corporation today said it has bagged a fresh contract from state-run BSNL, with the aim of enhancing broadband services in the country.


Under the partnership, ZTE will deploy ultra high-speed and next-generation broadband devices across BSNL's network in 15 circles, ZTE Corporation said in a statement issued here.

However, both the companies did not share the financial details of the agreement.


"In today's world, internet access and broadband penetration is an integral part of a country's growth and progress. We are extremely delighted and proud to partner with BSNL to make broadband connectivity more widely accessible to people in India," ZTE India CEO Cui Liangjun said.

The deployment will expand the reach and quality of BSNL's fixed network broadband services across the country and address the requirements of future multimedia broadband services there.

Liangjun further said, "ZTE has been closely associated with BSNL for over a decade across multiple telecom projects, and this latest initiative further reaffirms the strength of our partnership".

ZTE has already deployed over 3 million subscriber broadband units for BSNL

BSNL plans High-speed wireless broadband

The issue of which technology to use in wireless broadband services, TD-LTE or WiMax, is becoming keener.


After Reliance Industries did so, state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) plans to launch LTE-based services. “We will have to continue offering broadband services through WiMax in rural areas because of various government schemes. But LTE-based services are being looked at for urban areas,” chairman and managing director R K Upadhyay told Business Standard.

Both TD-LTE (time division-long term evolution) and WiMax (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) are 4G (fourth-generation) technology, which offer wireless broadband at high speeds. In TD-LTE, subscribers can get data speed in the range of 60-100 mega bits per second (mbps). In WiMax, data speed is around 40 mbps. Apart from the higher speed, an LTE-based service scores over WiMax because of its compatibility with both 2G and 3G networks.




Asked when these services would be launched, Upadhyay said it would take some time. Apart from Reliance Industries, which acquired majority stake in Infotel Broadband, which had won pan-India broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum in last year’s auction, another private company, Aircel, has recently concluded trials for TD-LTE with Huawei.



BSNL’s sister concern, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, is also contemplating TD-LTE services. MTNL had first called for bids to look for a franchisee for its WiMax business, but this did not materialise. It plans a new tender now, to be technology-neutral and has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as the agency to look for a franchisee and prepare an Expression of Interest for this.



Both BSNL and MTNL were awarded BWA spectrum in 2009, a year ahead of the auction for private companies. It is expected that the latter would commercially launch their services in the first quarter of next year.